I'm going to live!
by Tensei Kano
Summary: I'm Tensei Kano. I'm 14, turning 15, pretty short for my age, black hair, blue eyes, and a huge passion for gaming. Oh, and I was also a Beta Tester for Sword Art Online. But hell, who could have expected what came next? I started this story a while back, so I promise the story gets better as the chapters progress. (Large story.)
1. Chapter 1: Game time

**SAO: I don't want to die**

Chapter 1: Game time

"Hey! Welcome to this week's episode of 'MMO Stream!' This week, we have tens of thousands of people lining up to get their hands on the new game! Can you guess? Or do you know? That's right, it's Sword Art Online! Sword Art Online, or SAO for short, has hit the market in an outstanding..."

I sighed, smiling to myself. These poor guys were stuck in line 3 days in advance to get it, and here I was, nowhere near the line, not even on my computer to purchase a digital copy of the game, said to revolutionise what we knew as online video games. This was something that most people would have found odd in me. I could practically imagine my friends and their confused faces.

_Why aren't you going to go get it? You're not even going to try? Come on! You've been hyping about this thing for months!_

Oh, for those of you who don't know me, I'm Tensei Kano. I'm 14, turning 15, pretty short for my age, black hair, blue eyes, and a huge passion for gaming.

Oh, and I was also a Beta Tester for Sword Art Online.

And that's what sets me apart from the rest. 1000 people were picked at random to beta test the legend that was SAO. It was certainly interesting. It was a classically beautiful MMORPG, but with the twist of managing without the use of magic. Everything was done by weapon and skill, no magic involved. A bold move for an RPG.

What also set it apart from all others was the complete comprehensive us of the NerveGear gaming console technology, which transferred your brain signals into a helmet, controlling in-game movement.

Brilliant!

I plugged the cable into the NerveGear helmet an tentatively slipped it on, lying down on my bed as I did so. I felt excitement build up as I opened my eyes and started the application, Sword Art Online. White words appeared before my eyes; "Link start." A flash of white light alerted me that the game had begun.

,

Character design, sure! I didn't have to be short, or have messy black hair. I scrolled to the bottom, picking out my language; Japanese. Ah, there!

I picked a male character, of course. I never understood people who role-played females, but maybe that was just me. Now that I could read the words, I quickly manipulated my character to my liking, raising height, turning my eyes green, and dyeing my hair brown. Come on, lets admit it. We play MMOs to escape from who we are, be who we want to be. So I could make myself different. It wouldn't do any harm. I picked a pair of duelling knives that I knew from previous experience were sturdier that they looked. With everything in place, I submitted my final character and started the game.

My eyes opened to a clear sky and a huge, cathedral-like building. I breathed deeply, my senses already filled by the technology of NerveGear. More excitement built up, as I ran straight through the crowded streets, filled with men and women all looking for shops and quests, else taking in the world. I ignored them, knowing exactly where to go. The wind whistled in my ears as I ran as fast as I could, almost slamming into a few innocent bystanders. These guys could level as slow as they wanted, but I was going to level up as quick as possible. It took me 2 months during the beta test period to reach the 7th floor, and I wasn't planning on taking that long this time.

"Um...! Excuse me!"

I stopped when I realised the female voice was directed at me. Who could want something now, and why me? I hoped they wouldn't take long. I always had a problem saying no, after all.

There was a girl who looked about 16, closer to my real age, even though my character looked about 18 or so. It was obvious that he tried to dress as normally as possible, with the limitations of the world being rpg based, a red dress, covered by a brown leather vest for protection.

"You look really familiar with these streets! You must be one of the beta testers!" She beamed. I nodded, unsure what to say. She pressed on regardless. "I'm new to MMOs... Could you please help me?"

Ack! Here we go, I can never say no to anyone... Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, she didn't exactly look strong, but it would be good to experience the game properly, with others... But would she hold me back?

"Alright, I'm Tensei. Welcome to Sword Art Online. What's you're name?"

She gave me a cute, winking smile that radiated thanks and answered happily. "My name is Silica!"

,

Silica fell backwards on her bum, onto the grassy ground, wincing a bit. In front of her, a wild boar with red eyes grunted angrily.

"Oww..." She rubbed the spot where she had fallen, before blinking. "Huh? It doesn't hurt..." She looked at me for help.

I took her to a simple training field in hopes to teach her the basics. It was a pleasant hillside, with lush green grass, but not overly crowded by shrubbery. The tall grass waves softly in the wind, tickling my heels.

"Yeah, I don't think game developers would last long without being sued if they allowed you to feel too much pain." I replied, answering her unasked question. She nodded, then took out her long dagger. It was a simple dagger, a beginner's weapon, just like my own knives. She stood back and waited for the boar to lunge.

With a snort, it did lunge. She countered it with one of her own, but the boar gave a snort of disgust and butted her legs, causing her to fall backwards again.

I sighed. "It's not too hard, miss. Just stand back, and input the motion correctly. You're dagger requires the correct input motion to use its skill. You don't last long without skills in SAO." I pretended to hold an invisible dagger and stood in the correct stance. "Just hold the weapon tight, but not too tight, and step forward, leap, and stab."

The boar grew threatened by my motions and grunted at me. I took out my knives and blocked it's oncoming charge, holding it off. Silica processed the information and tried it herself. Her dagger glowed blue, then white, and she lunges at the boar. Instinctively, I threw the boar away from me, so that it came face-to-face with Silica's dagger.

She rammed the dagger in between it's eyes, then slashed upwards. It dagger came out clean, an the boar flopped to the ground, lifeless, before disintegrating into a thousand pieces.

Silica looked at me, beaming with joy. "I did it, I did it, I did it! Did you see that? That was awesome!"

I smiled. "Well I'm glad you enjoyed that. Actually, let's form a quick party right now, we'll level up quicker that way." I opened a menu, while she looked at me confused. "This is you're first time playing an MMO, isn't it?" I asked her. She nodded, then looked even more surprised when a holographic screen came up in front of her, asking her to accept the party invitation. She agreed, and soon, we were a team.

"Hey, there's no need to call me 'miss' you know." She said suddenly. I looked at her, a little taken aback by how open this girl was. Her lack of online experience was painfully obvious. "Maybe it's a liiiiitle soon," she considered, "but how about you just call me Silica? And I can call you Tensei!"

I smiled, ruffling her twin ponytailed hair. "Sure, whatever you want... Silica." She slapped my hand away and pouted, trying to adjust her hair back to normal.

This is alright. I guess leveling a little slower to keep people company isn't too bad.

In the top right, her name appeared below my health bar, alone with a health bar of her own.

"Alright, let's go hunt some more, you wanna get strong in a small amount of time, right?" I looked further east, where the wind was blowing from. "We should go that way. Monsters are about the same there, but they give a little extra experience." I looked at Silica, who was suddenly looking at me curiously, a little closer than I would have liked.

"You sure know a lot about this game." He said, a small smile on her face. "But... Why are you helping me so much?" I looked at her, surprised.

"You were the one to ask me for help!"

"But you could have refused! You accepted me so easily!"

I stopped and thought about it. Why didn't I turn her away? It wasn't just my usual refusal to say no, there was something compelling me. "...why? I wonder too." I simply gestured for her to follow, and walked east, Silica falling in step beside me. She let the matter drop, simply deciding to trust me.

I watched as the sunset ahead of us sunk lower and lower, and it began to grow dark. Excellent! I was almost level 2 already, even with Silica slowing me down a little. Maybe this whole party thing wasn't a bad id- huh?

Silica gave a shocked yelp as she was suddenly consumed by a glowing white light, which I recognised as a teleport. I reached out to her instinctively, only to be enveloped in the same light, which blinded me temporarily. I closed my eyes as they started watering.

_A forced teleport?_

,

"H-huh? Isn't this the town of beginnings?"

"Why'd we get teleported?"

"Phew, almost died, thank god for admin teleportation!"

I opened my eyes to the town of beginnings, where I had been a couple of hours ago. Silica beside me looked awfully confused. I whispered to her, "Don't worry Silica. It's probably a welcome event, no big deal." But even as she nodded, I felt a strange sense of unease. Nothing was wrong, the scarlet sky was as peaceful as ever, no bugs had been seen yet... Why did I feel so restless?

"Look, up in the sky!"

I looked up obediently at the sky and gasped. The previously beautiful sunset sky was being covered by the materializing red panels. Soon, the entire stadium was covered in a dome of red panels. Even more disturbing, thick, red liquid began dripping from the cracks, looking shockingly like... _blood._

I froze. I was never good with blood, even in real life. But the red liquid didn't drop straight down, it twisted and grew, combining at a single spot, forming a giant red blob. As soon as that happened, the red blob took shape as a large, faceless, cloaked entity. _Wait... that's a game master!_

Silica shivered a little bit, shuffling behind me. I couldn't do anything to comfort her, my every sense seemed to have deserted my body, leaving a numb coldness. The game master, whatever it was, spoke in a deep, ominous voice.

"Welcome players, to my world, Sword Art Online."

_His _world? Wait... no... it couldn't be...

"I am Kayaba Akihiko, creator of the NerveGear technology. I am currently the only person who has full control of this world, which I have created myself." He paused, as the crowd broke into scattered mutters. he raised an enormous hand, bringing up the holographic main menu. "I trust most of you have noticed that the logout button is missing from the main menu. However, this is no bug, nor a game malfunction."

I gasped, opening the main menu for myself. It was true! In place of the logout button that was available during beta, an empty space with no words appeared. When I selected that option, the main menu simple closed. Many around me were doing the same, gaping at the empty gap. the cloaked dementor continued, "Let me clarify, this is not a malfunction, simply a feature of Sword Art Online." The creature had no face, yet I had the impression it was grinning. "You cannot log out of this game. No one outside will be able to remove or shut down your Nervegear. Should this be attempted, NerveGear will emit powerful microwave radiation, frying your brain, and therefore ending your life."

_No, that's not possible! Something this dangerous would have been checked by authorities, surely!_ I looked around desperately, people silently agreeing. But then, in front of me, a conversation between two men, one with red hair, the other black, made my blood run cold.

"He's right. The transceiver's microwave signals are similar to a microwave oven. If the limiter was disabled, it could fry our brains." The black-haired man replied tersely.

…_wait... no..._

I almost yelled, right there and then. The cloaked figure continued, disregarding our reactions. "Many people have ignored this warning. As a result, 213 people have... retired, per se, in the world of Aincrad and in real life."

A cloud of white, holographic news reports appeared, circling the game master. "As you can see, many news sites have reported these deaths. Thus, please calm down, and work hard." I stared in horror, looking for a way out. "But there is only one way to escape Sword Art Online. You must clear the 100 floors of Aincrad. Search the dungeons. Find the boss of each level, ascend, and finally, clear the 100th floor's boss. Only then, can you escape."

"But do take note. There will be no more respawns. When your character dies, your avatar will be erased. And then, as you might expect, the NerveGear will fry your brains." I couldn't move. What sick game was this bastard giving us? This was no game, this was life and death! How could he...

The deep voice interrupted my harsh reprimands. "Oh, and if you search your inventory, you will find a little gift from me." Everyone immediately opened their inventory, me included, only to find...

"A mirror?" I looked into the mirror, and immediately, a white light engulfed me, different from the teleportation light.

_What-_

As abruptly as it began, the white light faded. I looked around me, seeing people looking... oddly different. A man at the edge of the borders was dressed in women's clothes, yelling with shock at a large, adult man who was yelling back at him for lying about being a girl.

_Wait, but that means..._

"Tensei?"

I turned around to see a little girl, dressed in a red dress and brown leather vest, no older than 13, maybe a little younger. Despite this, she was only an inch shorter than me. "Who are you? Wait no... it can't be... Silica?"

She nodded, speechless, then pointed at me. I looked in the mirror given by the game master, to see my face, nothing wrong with it... except that it was MY face. Not the 18 year old, constructed male avatar I created, but my messy black hair, blue eyes and excessively short height, only an inch above Silica's own height. I realised that almost everyone around me was now taller than me, except for a couple of shorter girls my age.

"The NerveGear's high density sensor! It traced our faces during the scan!" The man with black hair in front of us yelled, except that he was no more than a tall, but slender boy, about 16 or so years old.

So! Work hard, players, and I wish you, every one of you, the best of luck."

On that cryptic note, the cloak dissolved, and the panels cracked, and faded. Soon, the entire square was silent, shocked. A beat of silence. Two. Three. Then...

"SCREW YOU!"

"LET US OUT OF HERE!"

"Are you KIDDING ME?"

Silica stood staring... shocked... scared... "No... NO!" She screamed, bursting into tears and bumping into my side.

"Calm down Silica!" I yelled, grabbing her arm. "Quickly, lets get out of here!"

Confused by fear, she followed me, sobbing. The game... no, the challenge of the world that was Sword Art Online...

...had begun.

**T/N: Hey guys! Reaching into new topics here, I used to only write Harvest Moon fanfiction, then I got tired of the lack of action.**

**I fell in love with SAO afterwards. Badass as hell :D So I made my own version. This fanfiction runs alongside the original plot, and I try not to interfere with the characters too negatively. I'm aiming to make a fanfiction that can run with the original plot and not change it too much, but adding my character in at the same time.**

**Well, that was fun. Let me know what you think, and I'll keep writing! Review please? xD**

**Tensei Kano**


	2. Chapter 2: I won't let you

Chapter 2: I won't let you

Aincrad was by all means a beautiful world that I was glad to, and had done before, lose myself in. However, being stuck in it permanently, with the ever-looming threat of death present, was quite a different story. The information struck me hard, but it definitely hit the sneaky preteen I had been working with, who had obviously faked her age, harder. She had spent the last 10 minutes sobbing into my shoulder, evidently shocked by the situation.

"Silica! Silica, listen to me!" I shook her hard, surprising her temporarily out of her crying stupor. "Listen, we have to accept it! This is happening, so we've got to level, as fast as possible. I was here in beta, I know this game well enough, we can win!"

The girl in front of me hiccoughed back to near-normality, completely different from the lively, bubbly girl I had been working with an hour ago. The thought of imprisonment, and worse, threat of death, could do that to a person.

"I... I don't wanna die..." She whispered, shivering.

"You think I'd let you? Hell no, come on. We're going to survive, Silica. We'll make it, no matter how long it takes!"  
Slowly, with many pauses and hiccoughs, she nodded. I meant it too, it began a game, which filled me with a reluctance to help the newbies. But this was no longer a game. Like I had said to myself in the plaza, this was life and death.

"Good... Now listen to me. I know where to fight for now, we'll go to the place we were heading just now before... before the teleport. We'll work together, Silica." I looked at her with determined eyes. "I won't let you die, Silica."

She nodded, still weak, but quieter now. I could see her calming down a little. I took her hand and walked her to the edge of the town. She clutched my hand, perhaps for comfort.

Something told me it would be better to change the subject. The less hysterical time she spent panicking, the quicker she's come to terms with life here. I don't want to come across as a hero and all, but somehow, keeping Silica calm seemed to be my way of accepting and calming down. If I wasn't calm, there wasn't a chance in hell I could help Silica calm. I had to admit, it wasn't easy to keep cheerful, it was a huge effort.

"Say, Silica... How old are you?"

"I'm about to turn 13 in a month."

"So you're under the recommended age?" I remembered a warning in the beginning of the game, rated T. As far as I was concerned, 12 was certainly not a teen. I chuckled, keeping a light tone. "You sneaky little girl." I ruffled her hair gently, bringing out a cry of protest from her.

"What about you, Tensei? You don't look that old either." I hesitated. I was, after all, really short, only an inch or so taller than her. Maybe I'd grow later in life, but for now, I wasn't going anywhere.

"I'm actually 14, turning 15 in a couple of months." Silica looked at me curiously again, at which I replied, "I'm short, I know. I've always been a little small." She giggled a little, finally cheering up in spite of herself. "What's so funny?"

"Just imagine! I'm only 12, which means I'm going to grow taller soon! That means that one day, you'll be the mini one!" She giggled harder as I coloured. She continued, her wild and bubbly side taking over again, "Hahaha, I can't wait for the day that I can pet you over the head, I'll tower over you!" In excitement, she boosted herself on my shoulders, pressing down hard. I gasped, not expecting the push, and fell. With her boost gone, she fell straight down on top of me.

Silica landed in a bundle on top of me, almost crushing me. She laughed, a high pitched, excited giggle, while I tried to get up with the weight of her body still on me. "Get off! You're heavy!" I yelled.

Inwardly, I sighed. This was going to be an interesting journey... More for her than me.

,

I heard a screech, then a caw. Soon, I was surrounded by 3 birds of prey, aiming to scar my face and end me quickly. If I was any other newbie, I would be finished. It would be curtains, the microwave shock would kill me, and that would have been the end of it. But I had real experience, and that was everything.

The black crow launched itself at me, and clawed at my leather armor. I waited for the crow to get close, then slammed it with the tough leather if my shoulder pad. It was stunned for 2 seconds, which gave me ample time to slash its weak spots, the joint of its wings. It screeched in pain and disintegrated into its pieces of blue light.

I had no time to celebrate though. The green mini-phoenix and it's partner, the red falcon, launched themselves both simultaneously. Instead of competing with their incredible speed, I jumped back, allowing them to get near the ground, then slammed them both with the handles of my knives. I yelled quickly, "Switch!" At which Silica jumped in and slashed the stunned falcon to death. The mini-phoenix recovered quickly and launched itself at Silica's face, slamming it's body into her shoulder with the weight of a small dog. She winced, then, with the agility of an expert, she elbowed the mini Phoenix, then hit it with her dagger's handle, and charged up her dagger's skill. And then...

Slash!

She cut clean through the centre of the bird, ending its digital life. The bird corpse dissolved, and a screen came up in front of both of us.

Victory!

Exp: 45 (+5 party bonus)

Gold: 40gp

Items: 1

You got Falcon's feather!

You leveled up!

Level: 3

Atk + 2

Dex + 2

I smiled, closing the holographic readout. Silica squealed at her victory. "That was so awesome! Did you see that, Tensei? I did amazing! I..." She stopped, staring at her holographic readout, indicating similar stats, then selected her dropped item. "Tensei... What's this?" A flute materialized in her hand. It looked rough, but clean and coated in a light green fabric, the colour of the mini-phoenix.

I gaped. "The Phoenix Phlute! It's a rare drop from Phoenixes, but they're found in bigger Phoenixes, I didn't even know you could find it down here... Basically, it only has 3 uses, and depending on where you use it, a monster will come to you, attracted by the sound. You can either use it to attract a rare monster to kill, or you can- Silica?"

She wasn't even listening. She had already stuck the flute in her mouth and blew a strange, quick tune. I sighed, covering my face with a gloved hand.

A rabbit came towards us, curious. It was a common rabbit, sighted at least twelve times on the journey here.

"Ah well. It's really hard to find a rare monster down here, anyway." I slid towards it and killed it quickly, collecting it's dropped meat as a cooking ingredient. "Hmm, D grade rabbit meat..."

Silica was staring at the flute in wonder. "It's..." A smile began to tug at her lips. "It's sooooo cool!" She squealed, storing it in her inventory yet again. I smiled, knowing she was happy. She was a great friend to have around, and a cheerful one at that.

"Come on, we can get to the next village before afternoon if we don't stop anymore. There are some good quests there." I walked on, Silica bounding like a terrier behind me.

We walked like that for a while, talking a lot. I opened up to her, and began telling her about my life outside of SAO, about my little sister, Tess, who was indeed about as old as Silica, about my school mates, it was odd, reliving a time I knew I would not come back to for a few years at least.

_Years..._

I knew this world well enough to guess that, though I could never tell Silica. It took me 2 months to get through 7 floors alone, and every floor got tougher. We'd get out of here, but what state would we be in after 2 years in Sword Art Online? Or worse, would we be alive? Would we be d-

_No! I can't let that happen! I won't!_

To change the topic, I asked Silica about herself. "Well, there's not a lot to say about me. I'm a single child; no siblings, I went to Elementary school at..." She went on like this for quite some time, and I listened.

Maybe it was naive, thinking that we could make it out of here. But if naive was what I had to be to make it out of here, then naive I was.

,

"I won't be long! I can get it myself!" Silica shouted back. I sighed. She had dropped her Phoenix Phlute in our last camp spot, and had gone back to retrieve it. Someone might have already found the rare drop and took it for themselves, for all we knew. We may have been similar in height, but it was painfully obvious who the older one was here. She wasn't useless, not by any means, but definitely was clumsy, quick and easily excited. She could become a fine player in time though. I hesitated, wondering whether letting her go off on her own was a good idea. The plains were fairly simple to navigate.

Unease grew. I promised to protect her. Even though she said she was capable, I should have gone with her. This world wasn't predictable... What was I still doing here? I ran after her.

It's alright. She just went to get her flute. There's nothing wrong...

I kept reassuring myself, telling myself that there was nothing to be worried about. But I didn't really believe it. Something was wrong, I could feel it. Call me paranoid.

I kept running, then the panic kicked in hard like a nail in my gut, when I saw the health bar below mine drop straight from full health to yellow in a single second.

That was enough proof for me. I dashed as fast as I could, willing my feet to go faster. On my player tracker, I could see I was nearing Silica. I stared ahead and gasped. A fully grown Phoenix had appeared in front of Silica, half her height but both beautiful and dangerous. Full-grown Phoenix's were for players at least 2 levels above us! It was extremely rare, very dangerous and infamous for it's speed. It tackled Silica faster than the eye could follow, lowering her health to the red zone. I wasn't going to reach her! No... I wouldn't...

In an act of pure desperation, I reached for my knife and threw it. The knife flew trough the air, soaring high...

Come on, come on, hit it!

The Phoenix didn't even notice the knife until it sliced straight through its wing, severing it from the body and almost, but not quite, killing it. I didn't waste any time, simply charging my second knife and shot forward to finish it off with a simple but effective stab.

Instead of dodging, I caught a glimpse of it's fiery, beady eyes, before it jumped towards me with it's famous agility and caught me in the same loop of tackles it had done to finish Silica off. I slashed wildly, not daring to open my eyes in case it was set on blinding me. But I had to open them, my health was, too, rapidly decreasing. Then, I caught sight of it's severed wing, bursting into blue light. Somehow, my mind had surpassed the need for worded thoughts, and I jumped high. The Phoenix shot up to finish me off, but failed and flailed madly in the air, forgetting that it now only had one wing. Taking advantage of it's helplessness, I slashed it's body and twisted."

The Phoenix burst into flames, a fiery explosion that I had completely forgotten could happen.I should have remembered that that could happen. I had fought several Phoenixes in the beta test.I roared in shock, making me wince at the reduced, but nonetheless shocking, pain. It effectively lowered my own health to the red zone, making me panic slightly. I felt the fatigue of battle course through my veins. It was excruciating, I barely had time to marvel at how the game master managed to reduce the amount of pain, but not stress of muscle, before I realised the grave danger Silica was in.

She had fallen in shock and fear, health dangerously low, which did nothing to raise my moral... 12 health points... She was a strike away from death!

_Nothing for it. _

I hoisted her onto my right shoulder, before I realised that that was the arm I had burnt. Her weight stung my arm, which was crying out for a rest, or at least a healing item, but we had used our only healing potion yesterday, leaving me to carry her like this.

She stirred, dazed and in pain, heavily confused. "Who... Are you?... Tensei...?" She half smiled. "I have the flute thing..." It alarmed me to hear how faint her voice was.

"I won't let you die, Silica! We promised! I told you before, we're getting our of here together!" I yelled the words to keep her spirits up, but partially to kick the pessimistic doubts out of my system, which had been eating away at me since I saw Silica's health drop.

_That's right... We're going to make it!_

I was never so happy to see the gates of the second town we had originally been heading for.

As I walked, I realised Silica had fallen asleep from exhaustion on my back. I wasn't far off either, I needed rest, and fast!

I turned into the inn, where I knew we could rest, recuperate and perhaps spend a night or two.

The NPC at the desk simply stared at us, along with 2 other players, who simply gaped. I smiled weakly and asked politely, "2 rooms please," then collapsed without another word, Silica landing on top of me for the second time that day.

,

I woke up to a wooden room, filled with warm, ambient light. Did I pass out in the living room again? That must have been it. Any moment, Tess would rush in and yell at me for sleeping so late. What a crazy dream that was. I would tell her, and we could both have a laugh about it over dinner.  
"Tensei!"

I opened my eyes fully, waking up properly this time. Of course that wasn't a dream... I had been stupid to think that I could have dreamed up the game master, the players, Silica... Silica?

"Silica!" I got up immediately, all my memories flooding back in a flash. "Silica, what's wrong?" For she was crying, tears streaming down her face, but not in hysterical fear for her own well-being, tears for mine.

"I was so worried!" She sobbed, "What if you died to save me? I went back to get the flute, and the Phoenix attacked me... and... and..." She broke down further into sobs.

I ruffled her hair again, gently. "What did I tell you, Silica? I'm not going to let you die."

She choked out a spluttered laugh. "You idiot..."

_What can I say,_ I thought to myself, _I said I wouldn't leave her to die. I meant it._

**T/N: Aaaaand end chapter! Thanks for reading guys! I received 2 reviews and 3 follows in such a short amount of time, it surprised me! The SAO fanfiction community is a lot more active!  
I'll do my best to update guys, but don't expect me to always update every day... in fact, every couple of weeks is a more believable target. But hey, for you followers, you'll just receive notifications so that's cool with me xD**

**Review replies!  
RyuugaAsao - Thank you! I plan to keep the surprises coming, trust me. I do plan to introduce new OCs, but I'll be honest, I'm not sure I like the idea of using your character straight up. So, thanks for the offer. I may put it in for the record... I don't really like kuudere though. We'll see. If I put it in, I'll let you know. If you don't want to spread it, that's fine too. I don't like buying my advertisers, I prefer to let people decide if they want to spread it or not.**

**Stellar Spirit: Thanks for reading! I'll keep 'em coming, don't worry.**

**Okay! And finally, I'd just like to say I DON'T plan on making romance bloom, she's twelve for god sake. Maybe later, with another character.**

**Tensei out!**


	3. Chapter 3: Seperation

_**Chapter 3 - Seperation**_

"Well... What do you think?" The boy asked.

Silica hesitated. "I-I dunno. I don't think..."

She looked at me, then her face changed from confused to excited in a second, as though a light bulb lit up her mind. Without warning, she grabbed my arm. "I'm sorry, I'm already with Tensei!"

The boy spluttered, looking at me with an expression of mixed shock and outrage. I had no idea what was going on and asked. "Silica, what's wrong?" The boy looked even angrier at my use of her first name without a suffix. Silica dragged me away, her arm still looped in mine.

"Er... It's a little embarrassing... He asked to marry me... Then you came back from the shop, and I had to get away..." She looked at my surprised face and apologised, "I-It's not that I don't you or anything, but I had to pretend that you were my boyfriend, so that he would go away."

I stifled a laugh. Silica was surprisingly popular among people my age.

It had been three weeks since the game master appeared in the town of beginnings and trapped us in his own personal hell. We were well on our way to becoming level 14... Or at least I was. Silica was about to hit level 13. She had somehow fallen a level behind, unbeknownst to me until recently. For now though, we had taken to this town for the past 2 nights to restock before we hit the road again... We had no direction, we were simply walking, searching for the dungeon. But not anymore, now we had a direction.

"Well, anyway, I got all we need to move on. Shall we get to the meeting village?"

Silica looked up in confusion. "Meeting village? What are you talking about?"

I brought up the menu, opening a message I received at the shop. "Didn't you get this message?"

Silica shook her head and looked at my screen, obscuring most of my view, and my face, with her brown pigtails.

_We are the front-line fighters inviting you to join us in a rendezvous village, located on the map included with this message. We have located the first floor dungeon boss and intend to approach him soon. We must have a strategized meeting before this happens, in order to take minimum casualties._

_We hope you join us as we need as many as possible. We will hold the meeting in a week's time to give everyone ample time to arrive. Thank you and good day. _

_Diabel_

I closed the message, just as Silica was about to reply. At the same time, a loud beep alerted Silica that she too had got a message. She opened it, only to find the same message in her inbox.

Her reaction was something I didn't expect. Instead of her eyes shining at the sign that we were about to take the first step into the upper floors of Aincrad, she bit her lip and fell silent.

"I dunno about this... It sounds dangerous." She had a look in her eyes that I hadn't seen in a while. It took me a minute to figure it out, but when I did, I didn't know what to do. The look in her eyes was fear. "We don't HAVE to go, right? I mean, the front lines will be cleared eventually, with or without us!" She looked at me, searching for the vote of agreement she normally found in me.

"But they say they need all the people they can get! We could make a real difference! Wouldn't it be awesome to be able to help the front lines?"

"Not if we die!" Her tears were coming quickly at the thought of death, but I didn't let that change my mind.

"Look, Silica. How about this, even if you're scared, how about you come with me to the village first? You don't have to participate in the actual fight if you're scared, but at least let me have this chance." My eyes were burning with a determination that had not wavered since day one. "I want to clear this game, Silica."

She fell quiet, brooding, still scared, but keeping it to herself. "Fine. We'll decide what to do later, but for now, we go." I could sense her disapproval, but I ignored it and walked onward.

I felt odd as we walked past the city gates. That was the first time I clashed with Silica, and it certainly hasn't left me feeling good. There was some sense of unwillingness to move forward in her that I couldn't understand. But this was something i really wanted to do, help clear the game. Who could blame me, really? If my presence made things any quicker, even by minutes, then my presence would be there.

I felt Silica's disapproval that day, and I would feel it for the next few days, until I did something about it.

,

"Silica, we're almost there." I reported, when we woke up one morning from our tent. I could see the rendezvous village, just like the last village told us.

She nodded, not saying much. She had been like that for the past couple of days, silent and almost cold. But this morning, it was her day. I knew I was going to make it up to her.

"Let's go for a walk to that mountain, Silica."

Silica looked at me, confused. "Why?"

"Don't ruin the surprise, come on." I chided her kindly, then we set off at top speed.

I hadn't felt this good in days, running with the wind whistling in my ears, the sunrise dying the surrounding grass a reflective gold, turning whole fields into the most beautiful landscapes i had ever seen.

Eventually, we reached the mountain. It was perfect for what I wanted. We found a spot with a stream, and sat down, still silent.

There was a gap between us that needed to be bridged, and I needed to apologize for what I was about to do. I opened my mouth and...

"I'm sorry, Tensei."

I blinked. "What?"

She sighed. "It's true, I can see you want go to the front lines, and help. That's where you should be. That's where you are." Tears started to form in her eyes. "But its not where I'm meant to be. I'm too scared... I was never as good as you were. And that was what kept me so persistent these days. I didn't want to lose the friendship we made over the last month. So I thought I could make you feel guilty, so that you would stay with me."

I had nothing to say. She was basically saying everything I was about to, minus the guilty thing. "That's why I came to a decision," she continued, "that we should split up."

Her face was one of a 12 year old, but she sounded much older, much wiser, much more mature than the girl I had worked with. "That way, we both get... most of what we want. I don't have to be scared, and you don't have to be held back by me."

The silence was almost as sad as she was. I broke it only to confirm what she already knew. "Truth to be told, I was thinking the exact same thing. You're right. We do have to separate... But we don't have to lose contact, we can keep the friends list open for each other, and one day, we can get back. But for now, we have to split. That's why, Silica. That's why today, its your day."

She turned, still confused, only to find a medium-sized, powdered cupcake. She looked at me, happiness slowly coming back to her face.

"Well, I don't know when your birthday is, but you said we'd pass it in a month, so I'm assuming its soon. If I'm not going to be there to celebrate it, I'm going to celebrate it now."

Silica giggled, which grew and grew until it became full, unbridled laughter, high and sweet.

"You idiot! My birthday is today, you're celebrating it with me!"

With that, she threw me into the stream. I hit the water and felt the cool freshness surround me. Thank god it was deep enough. I came up, gasping for air, but I only found Silica jumping in after me.

That was probably the weirdest apology I ever accepted. But in the end, accept it I did.

,

"I'll message you!"

"Got it."

"Make sure you reply or I'll think you're dead."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And we're going to party up again soon!"

"Of course." I smiled, ruffling her hair one last time.

"Seriously, Tensei." She smiled, not even bothering to slap my hand off her head. "Thanks. I never would have made it this far without you."

I laughed. "And you'll make it much further, trust me!"

Silica's tears came again, but this time, she laughed them away. A blue haired man yelled for attention, signaling the start of our meeting, and the cue for Silica to leave. She hugged me hard, then ran off before I could so anything to reply the gesture. I think she was trying to hide tears, but I'm glad she did. I want to remember her, the joyful Silica, not the overly dramatic, deep thinking Silica.

I sighed and brushed thoughts and tears to the side, focusing on the meeting.

The blue haired man, Diabel, declared the opening of the planning. "We need to tell everyone in the town of beginnings, it is possible to beat this game! Everyone here shares that responsibility!" A loud cheer followed this statement. "First, get into parties of six!"

I gasped. Everyone there had immediately come together to their friends, leaving no space for an outsider like me. I began to panic. I needed a party, and fast!

I found a girl in a cloak, looking completely left out, her face covered by a brown cloth hood, and moved closer to her. I was about to suggest that we party up, before a teenage, black haired boy, like myself, came to us. I recognized him a the boy in the town of beginnings, who had yelled about the NerveGear's technology. "Hey. You two got left out?" I was about to agree, but the girl replied differently.

"I wasn't left out. I just chose not to get involved, since everyone seemed to know each other."

"Same for me." I changed tack quickly.

"Solo players?" The boy asked, and the girl nodded. I hesitated, then followed suit. I wasn't in a team any more, making me one of the soloers. "Then let's party up. The man said we'd need to have a party to be an effective force." Silently, we both agreed and nodded. We partied up, sending each other the invites and recieveing holographic notifications before our eyes. I saw their names on the top left, below my health bar. "Tensei", "Kirito", then "Asuna", obviously the girl.

"Alright, have you formed your parties?" General noises of assent were heard. "Then-"

"HOLD IT!"

A fierce voice came from behind us, coming from a man with orange spiked hair, who leapt down the steps, 4-at-a-time. He reached the bottom and turned. "My name is Kibaou. I'd just like to say, I think some of us need to apologies to the 2000 people who have died so far!" I gasped. 2000 already? That was insane! It had only been a month, what-

Diabel stepped in. "Kibaou-san... Are you referring to the beta testers?"

"Of course!" He hurled back. "On the day we were landed in this hell-hole, they disappeared and took all the good hunting spots and easy quests for themselves, leaving us newbies to fend for ourselves!" His jaw went rigid. "I'm sure at least someone here was in beta! They should get down on their knees and apologies, give us all their items and equipment! Otherwise? No one can trust them, and we shouldn't party with them!"

I bit back my tongue, hoping that luck was on my side and that guilt wouldn't betray me. Was it really our fault, our responsibility for abandoning these players? I took one of many under my wing and helped her, but what of the others?

Wait... We DID help them!

I didn't know about anyone else, but I wasn't going to let this random guy ruin it for all of us beta testers. Raising my hand slowly, I spoke loud enough or the whole audience to hear. "May I speak, please?" There was a general noise of consent, confirming my right to input my opinion.

I jumped down, a little slower than the orange-haired man. "So let me get this straight, Kibaou-san. You want the beta testers to take responsibility for the lives that have been claimed so far, because we-...they abandoned the newcomers and went ahead on their own. And that you want then to compensate?"

The man grunted. "Of course!" In response, I took out a small leathered book out of my inventory.

"Do you remember getting a guide book, at the beginning of the game? It was for free at the item shop, I'm sure everyone got one."

"Of course! We may not be beta testers but we're not newbies, boy!"

I sighed audibly. "Well then, I'm sure you are aware, then, that this guide book is compiled by the beta testers themselves."

The crowd gasped and questioned, disbelieving, "Seriously?" "I didn't know that!" "Woah!"

I raised my voice a notch and faced the crowd. "That's right. Everyone, including the dead ones, had access to this information, and had died anyway. Now that that's cleared up, can we proceed with the meeting?" I raised an eyebrow at Kibaou, who sneered and threw himself into a seat, sulking. I smiled and went back to my seat.

Diabel continued as though there had been no interruption. "Now, in the latest version of the guidebook, it gives us information on the first boss. His name is Illfang..."

I kind of tuned out when they started talking about the boss's attack patterns. I already knew it all anyway. I let my mind wander, thinking about life outside of SAO. Tess was probably worried sick now. Mom was probably worse, but I tried not to think what desperate moves they might pull. If they tried removing my helmet... No, they had more sense than that. Desperate or no, they would wait... Right?

Tess, in a lot of ways, was that 'perfect' little sister, one who liked to cook, play with her friends, and play badminton, participating in almost every school event. At the same time, she could manage to balance her school grades to be relatively high. I couldn't be prouder of her. She was smart and diligent, and that showed, unlike with Silica. Silica was more clumsy, more emotional. At the same time, you couldn't say she didn't work hard... Yet there was almost a 'little sister' feel about her too.

"So here's the plan!" My attention refocused on the self-acclaimed knight. "Groups A, B and C are focused on whittling down Illfang's health! Groups D, E and F, the smaller groups, are focused on the sentinels, who will do their best to annoy the hell out of us. If you can't take them down, at least block and stall, ensuring that another team member has ample opportunity to help." His eyes burned with determination. "I can't stress how important it is that this is a _team effort_. This is not a solo mission. Proceeding like that will only get you killed."

An ominous pause followed this statement. Diabel smiled and continued in a lighter tone. "That wraps it up! Lets go get some rest, we leave at ten o'clock tomorrow!"  
The gathering disbanded, some in twos, threes, even full parties of six. I got up as well, only to find that the cloaked girl had already disappeared, leaving me and Kirito behind.

"Hey, Kirito-san... Do you think the beta testers are really responsible?" I had to ask. How many people saw it in Kibaou's frame of mind, that us beta testers were really all that bad?

He smiled. "You're a beta tester too, aren't you?" I didn't miss the word 'too', but he pressed on regardless. "I dunno... it feels really bad to take the blame for a couple thousand lives... I think that some of us are partially responsible... Sorry." He turned away. "I don't think I can make a judgement." Like that, he walked off.

My mind burned with certain words from the last hour. _"Solo players?" "I think that some of us are partially responsible"... "This is not a solo mission. Proceeding like that will only get you killed."_

_Well... I'm solo...I'm no longer part of a team..._

The danger of death seemed closer than ever now... No, that wasn't right, it never approached me.

I was the one walking towards it.

**T/N: 3 chapters in 3 days, what the hell is up with me? xDDD Don't expect an instant upload tomorrow guys, I lost sleep writing these chapters, and I have academics in my way, I can't write every second of my life! xDDD**

**I know, I'm sorry! So many people were telling me NOT to split Tensei and Silica up, but I had to. Silica has to get lost on her own, find herself with Rosalia, get saved by Kirito, etc etc etc. Don't worry, we haven't seen the last of her, I flipping love her, she's perfect for a character :3**

**By the way, the plot WILL be changing a little from time to time. I just saw up intil episode 15, and I think that was a bit of a forced plot. I'm out, when it comes to following the plot dot by dot.**

**Rate and favourite it you liked it and it would be really awesome if you could drop me a review. Till next time, my fellow SAO fans!**

**Tensei out!**


	4. Chapter 4: The fight

_**Chapter 4 - The fight**_

I sat with Asuna in silence. Both of us were alone, not rejected, by any means, but I could feel that she, unlike me, was a true solo player. She fought in silence, walked in solitude, and talked with nobody. That much was obvious. Even as we both ate our meals, me with a Japanese rice ball that many knew as Onigiri, and her with her loaf of brown bread, I felt as though she was deep in her own mind. Was she alright, just eating brown bread like that? Well, even if she wasn't, I doubt she'd say anything, not with her solo style.

"It's pretty good, isn't it?"

Asuna turned around and stared at the taller, black haired boy, who had made almost no noise until now. "May I sit down?"

The girl inclined her head, her good never once slipping from her face. Kirito sat down, taking out a loaf of his own brown bread. Without warning, Asuna edged away from him, much further than she needed to. I stared from my seat, wondering if she found his presence unwelcome.

"Do you really find it tasty?" The cloaked solo player asked quietly. I had the impression she wouldn't have spoken, except that her curiosity had been aroused.

"Of course." Kirito answered promptly. "I've been eating one daily since I got here. I do try to change it up a little though. Gets boring otherwise."

"Change it up?" Me and Asuna asked in perfect unison. Kirito only laughed, then offered her a small, brown jar.

"Try spreading some of this on your bread. It's good." I wasn't about to put anything on my Onigiri, so I watched as Asuna hesitantly placed her finger on the jar. Her finger glowed with a soft fluorescent light that indicated the use of the item. She carefully waved her finger over her bun, leaving a thick trail if what was unmistakably-

"Cream?" She looked at the bun, unsure. Kirito simply added cream to his own bun, destroying the used item. He munched on it quickly, satisfaction spreading on his face, like a flame from the edge of a piece of paper. Asuna tentatively bit into her now cream-tipped bun.

There was a full 5 second pause, in which she seemed to have frozen. Then, without warning, she stuffed the rest of the bun in her mouth, savior in the cream's flavor. In about 2 seconds, there was no more bread to be had for her. She sighed with that same happiness that lit Kirito's features. Kirito kindly told her where she could get more, but she seemed to lapse back into her quiet state. "I didn't come to this town to eat good food anyway." She finished.

Before I could stop myself, I asked. "Why did you then?" Both looked at me. "Come here, I mean. Why did you come here?"

The girl seemed to give this question serious thought. "I don't want to lose who I am." She sounded as though she had not given a day up without thinking of life outside of SAO. "I would rather stay myself until the end, than sit in the town of beginnings and rot away in some inn."

Her hands tightened, clasped together rigidly. "Even if I die in a fight with a monster, I don't want to lose to this game... No, to this world..."

Kirito tossed the rest of his bread into his mouth and swallowed. "I wouldn't want a party member dying on me. So both of you," he added, looking at me as well, "Don't die in tommorrow's fight, at least."

By the light of the lamps, I saw Kibaou apologizing bashfully to a forgiving Diabel. Tomorrow would be a huge fight. But would I survive it?

_And we're going to party up again soon!_

The familiar, cheeky girl's voice shot through my head, giving my resolve a much needed boost, readying me for the casualty-ridden fight ahead of us.

,

"Alright everybody?" Diabel called out. A roar of eagerness greeted his words. "Then, lets go! Don't get lost, you'll need all your energy and health items for the fight."

The sun shone through the trees, dimly lighting the forest path. Kirito turned to us. "When we fight the sentinels, I'll use my sword skill to block their attacks. When that happens, switch in, alright?"

"Switch...?"

Me and Kirito gaped at her in disbelief. "W-Wait." I couldn't believe it. "Is this your first time in a party?"

She nodded. Kirito and I shared looks of foreboding that said 'Oh boy...'

The landscape changed as we walked. We soon entered the dark dungeon and it's gate, wrought iron. Tentatively, Diabel pushed open the gate and stepped in boldly. The room lit up instantly, showing what looked like a huge bear with the head of a boar, coated in blood-red fur. It roared in fury and stepped forward, the ground shaking as it did so.

"ATTACK!"

No other words were needed. We split up into 6 groups, none of which were equal in numbers. My party headed straight for the sentinels, intending to finish them off quickly. It went as planned. So far so good. Kirito would spar with the sentinel, then strike its weapon upwards, at which point...

"Switch!"

"Roger!" Asuna leapt in and took out a long rapier, then struck the sentinel thrice within the span of half a second. I thought she was a newbie, but hell, it was pretty obvious that wasn't the case. "Good job." I called. I had no time to say anything else before another sentinel jumped from behind, poised to attack the unaware Kirito.

Clang!

I jumped and parried the attack, making Kirito turn around, suddenly aware of the threat that had almost reached him. I didn't wait for him to help though. What was the point of that? The sentinel was strong for a familiar, but I was faster, and had two knives, despite their short range. He used his own sword to defend himself, but I was excessively quick, making constant, small woulda at him, draining his health. The final blow came when he jabbed at me. I hopped nimbly upwards and landed on his sword, forcing it down and giving me ample opportunity to strike his face.

The sentinel was knocked back with the force of my blow, then fell and disintegrated into blue light.

Kirito gave me a quick thumbs-up, then continued to force enemy weapons upwards, leaving Asuna to switch in and take them out, much quicker than I took my own sentinel down, though admittedly I was alone when I did so.

I glanced back at the main boss, Illfang, and was surprise, but satisfied, to see its final health bar down to the red zone. It roared deafeningly and threw up its weapon and shield, leaving it to smash on the ground behind him.

"Leave it to me!" Diabel charged up to the beast, ready to do the final blow.

Wait... Weren't we supposed to slowly surround it?

Diabel continued to run even as the beast took out a larger weapon, the predicted ... Wait, that wasn't the described weapon ... What was that thing?

Kirito gaped at him, then roared, "Stop! That's not the same weapon! Jump back as quickly as possi-"

Illfang used his new weapon and jumpe up to the pillars above, bouncing from one to another faster than a pinball in a pachinko machine. With no warning, it shot down and slashed Diabel right down his chest. I gasped as he screamed aloud, his health bar visibly depleted past the red zone.

"DIABEL!" Kirito and I shouted with concern, and we withdrew back to his fallen form. Kirito took out a health drink and-

Diabel's hand stopped it. Kirito and I stared, disbelieving. Diabel whispered faintly, "No use... A health drink wouldn't... save a dead man..."

"You idiot! Why did you run after him alone?" Kirito yelled. I simply sat, aghast at our once lively leader, now accepting his own death. It's hard to think that someone would die when you saw them up and running less than an hour ago.

"You were in the beta test too... You know what I was after." He winked painfully. Both Kirito and I understood suddenly.

"Y-You were after the final attack bonus." I stuttered. It wasn't a question. Just a statement. So there was no need for an answer.

Diabel choked out his last words. "Please... For... the sake of... all... Defeat Illfang... and free the players... from this world..."

And he died.

We both sat, shocked. For me, this was my first experience with death in the world of Sword Art Online. I couldn't believe it. In the real world, someone's head had just been literally fried by microwave pulses, quickly, but possibly painfully. It shook me to my very core, as though something was falling, falling, falling away from earth to hell. Kirito looked as bad as I felt, and probably felt a lot worse himself. With pure effort, I got up and turned, facing the monster, the beast... the killer. Illfang.

With a roar of pure rage, I ran at it when it was distracted by 3 others, who had just backed away in terror. Adrenaline urged me to strike, which I did, brutally, swiftly, constantly, hitting its face, neck and shoulder joints, wanting to punish the murderer. It roared and flailed, but didnt manage to hit my nimble form. I couldn't keep this up though. I began to tire from the footwork, and I jumped back. 5 other players immediately ran towards the beast to keep him preoccupied. I found myself at Kirito's side, who had managed to stand, and was glaring at the beast.

Asuna appeared by Kirito's other side. "I'm with you."

"And me." I whispered, panting slightly.

"Thanks." It was all he could whisper. Before I knew it, all 3 of us were dashing towards the boss in synced steps, speeding like falcons. Illfang drew his weapon and swing it down on us with incredible force. Just like how he dealt with the sentinels, Kirito manage to deflect the blade upwards. "Switch!"

Asuna jumped in and prepared to strike, when I saw Illfang's eye open, a malevolent, blood-red eye. "Asuna!" I yelled. My warning gave her a split-second hesitation which saved her life as Illfang slashed upwards, missing Asuna by millimeters. He was so close, in fact, that Asuna's cloak flew off, stabbed by the Nodachi, the llfang's samurai-like weapon. Her long, orange hair flew, and she struck the enemy hard enough to knock it back a few paces.

Asuna jumped back and waited for the next strike, her long flowing hair waving slightly, almost sparkling. Her face was one of fierce beauty, no rage, just calm strategy.

"Asuna!" Kirito screamed, running towards the beast again. She nodded, following again. The creature brought the blade down in the same fashion and Kirio brought his sword up. But instead of hitting Kirito's blade, the boss withdrew his weapon and slashed upwards, taking Kirito by complete surprise. He flew back as the force of the blow threw him straight into Asuna, bringing her to the ground as well.

The creature leered, bringing its sword high. I stood in front of the pair, bracing myself to be their human shield. I wouldn't let these two die, no matter what. The sword came down as my knives assumed a defensive stance and...

"Orrrraa!"

A huge, two-handed war hammer swung out above me and blocked the blade. I turned to see my savior, a muscled man with dark skin, sweating heavily. "We'll hold him off while you three recover!" He grunted. Diabel's voice shot through my head at that moment. "...This is a team effort!" I grinned reluctantly, letting myself feel the pleasure of escaping death by an inch.

The players swarmed the Illfang hastily, getting knocked off frequently, but taking no serious damage. The three of us got up and nodded.

"One last go. I'll deflect, Asuna, go for an attack, then Tensei, disable its joints, then I'll come back in." It was a long sentence, considering seconds were precious. I didn't waste another on encouragement, instead opting to charge with the duo.

Kirito blocked Illfang's sidestroke, then Asuna came in, striking almost 5 times in the second left to her. The arm holding the Nodachi swung towards her, glittering dangerously. I leapt on it and stabbed the crook of its elbow, effectively disabling it. Kirito jumped and jammed his sword into the creature. Both the boss and Kirito roared, one with adrenaline, the other with pain. He kept slicing through the beast, making absolutely sure that it would not survive.

And surely...A burst of white light. All held their breath. Silence. Then.

"Y... YEEEEAHH!" The crowd cheered wildly.

"We did it!"

"That was amazing!"

"Whoo!"

I could only collapse into a sitting position, Asuna breathing hard, Kirito still kneeling on the ground. The dark skinned man came up to Kirito. "My name is Egin. I'd just like to say, congratulations. This battle? It belongs to you." I couldn't agree more, as I grinned at him. The crowd cheered for him as he looked around in wonder. The cheers were loud, proud and-

"WHY?!"

The angry call seemed to contradict the jubilant atmosphere, cutting it short. Kibaou, the orange haired man, kneeled on the ground, wiping tears angrily.

"Why did you let Diabel die?" He demanded. "Don't play dumb, you knew what that weapon was! If you told us beforehand, Diabel would be alive! You... You killed him!"

A flame grew in my chest. "He just saves all of your lives-"

"At the cost of out leader!" Kibaou interrupted me, silencing my defense. Another man shouted "That's it! He must be a beta tester!" He pointed a shaking finger at Kirito. "Where are the rest of you beta testers? Come out!"

This was bad. Diabel wanted us to finish this to reunite and clear the game. At this rate, we'd be broken up. "Hey." Egin rallied against the shouting crowd. "We should all just calm down, he-"

His argument was lost in the terrifying sound of laughter. Not happy laughter, not the laughter you'd hear from an overexcited friend. This was insane, mad, almost maniacal. And it shocked me when I heard It issue from Kirito's mouth. He stood slowly, turning to Kibaou, his fringe of hair still covering his eyes. "Beta testers? I wish you wouldn't compare me to those newbies."

A shard of ice seemed to pierce my chest as he approached the confused man. "Most of the 1000 beta testers were idiots. Newbies who didn't know how to level up, let alone progress. Everyone here is better than them." An ominous pause as he stopped. "But I'm different. The reason I knew that weapon is because I made it further than anyone in the beta test, 8 floors to be exact." A collective gasp was heard, echoing in the room. "I know a lot. More than any information broker you could hope to meet."

"That's even worse!" The crowd began to scream at their ex-hero.

"That makes you a cheater!"

"A beta tester and a cheater?"

"That makes him... A beater!"

I was shocked at the stupidity of the crowd. But Kirito simple chuckled darkly. "A beater, huh? I like it." He equipped the dark cloak he received for finishing off the boss. It flowed behind him, making him look more menacing than ever. "From now on, don't lump me with the others then. I'm a beater." He walked away from the stunned Kibaou, up towards the steps for the gate to the second floor.  
I had to admire him and his strategy. Clearly, he didn't want the crowd to disobey Diabel's last wish, instead, giving them all an enemy to rally against, still joined as one. It was noble, something that struck me hard.

Both me and Asuna followed. "Wait!" Asuna stopped him. "You both.. You said my name."

"Sorry, we used your first name without thinking." I apologized automatically. But her eyes were pinned on him.

"How did you know it?" She asked. I almost tripped. How could she not know?

"There are names under your health bar in your view, right? That's us." He replied simply. Asuna squinted, reading the name aloud.

"Ki...ri...to... Kirito?" She looked up at him, her lips being pulled upwards at the edges. Suddenly, she giggled, her whole face transforming from the stern warrior to the innocent girl. "It was there the whole time, I'm so stupid! Eh... Ten...sei...?" She looked at me, to which I simply nodded.

Kirito sighed. "You'll be strong. Very strong. If you get an invite to a guild, don't refuse. There's a limit to what you can do as a solo player." He shifted slightly. "Tensei, don't think I don't know. You are a party member, a team player on all accounts, and a very speedy, versatile one. I doubt you were a solo player this whole time..." I grunted in response, surprised how much he'd noticed. "You should do well." He stepped forward, gently pushing the gate open.

"Wait!" Asuna stopped him again. "What about you?"

He didn't answer, merely pushed the gate fully open and walked through.

We didn't move for a while. It was as though our thought processes shut down. Then, I saw a notification pop up for both Asuna and me.

Party leader had dissolved the party.

Asuna stared at the notification with an expressionless face. Did she want to stay in his party? I didn't really think so. She began to walk through the gate in the same way, then stopped, turning back to me.  
"Hmm... Tensei-kun... How old are you? You look younger than most..."

I was surprised to be asked my real age by someone who knew me for less than 24 hours. If it was any other MMO, I would have refused. But this was SAO, it was painfully easy to guess my rough age-group. I saw no reason to lie. "I'm fourteen... turning fifteen in a month."  
Her face looked almost pitying. "I'm sorry you had to get stuck in this world at such an early age..." I was about to reply that there was no reason to feel sorry for me, that it wasn't even her fault, but she clapped once, and smiled. "That's it! Tensei-kun, would you like to join in a party with me?" Again, I didn't have time to consider it, because her grin widened slyly. "Remember, he said not to refuse invites, right?"

She opened up her menu and sent me an invite. What was she doing? She was of a higher level than me, some way or another, why would she let me party with her? It would slow her down... not much, a little. Parties were generally only beneficial in terms of experience points when there were 3 members or more. "Thank you." I couldn't say much else, tapping the 'accept' function on the holographic pop-up. For the second time, Asuna's name came up beneath mine.

She smiled and walked forward, through into the light, blinding after the darkness of the dungeon.

A beater, huh?

**T/N: Well wasn't that fun? Geez, describing fight scenes is pretty tough. ."**

**Asuna may have seemed a little too light-hearted here, but I'd like to remind you that she only really got serious when she joined the knights of Blood Oath or whatever its called.**

**Also, I will indeed be changing the plot a bit. I'm not sure I approve of the ALO thing... maybe I'll do it anyway xD What do you guys think? I need your opinion. Should I extend Tensei to AlfheimOnline later on?**

**Well anyway, no reviews since the last chapter, so no review reply corner this time.**

**Reviews are what really boosts me to write more, please leave one, even a short one, if you can :D**

**Tensei out!**


	5. Chapter 5: Reward

_**SAO Chapter 5 - Reward**_

I ran. I couldn't get my head around why. I just was. It was a green, plain field in mid day. In the top left, Silica's health was dropping to red.

I reached her, but she wasn't getting attacked by a Phoenix. It was the first floor boss, Illfang. I didn't understand why it was there, or why Silica wasn't defending herself. She just looked at me as the world turned red, wearing no smile, just a stern, uncharacteristic look.

From behind, Illfang made a deep gash in her with the Nodachi. Her health bar drops to nothing, and she dissolved into blood-red particles. Her mouth moved, but the words that came out weren't in her voice. It was deep, ominous, like the voice of the cloaked gamemaster. "You promised me, Tensei." And her particles exploded in a great burst of fire.

I cried aloud in loss, pain and terror. She couldn't be dead... Silica... I promised...  
Then the great blade of Illfang sliced through my neck and severed it.

,

I woke up, choking. I scrambled and tried to breathe, but in my imagination, the dream-Illfang cut my throat, so I had nothing to breathe with. But as the nightmare faded, I found myself on the polished wood of my room at the inn.

I got up and lit the lantern, sighing. From previous experience, I knew the nightmares would only get worse if I tried to get back to sleep immediately. Up until now, I didn't give myself a chance to think of the madness that was Sword Art Online, but The thought of death loomed at the back of my head. What loomed even closer was the thought of death for anyone I was close to, including Silica and Asuna.

Every night, my last thought was of death.

,

Silica,

What's up? Tensei here. It's been awhile hasn't it? I still can't believe its been five months since we parted. You haven't been keeping contact recently, neither have I actually. Sorry, didn't have time to message back, there was so much to do!

I'm currently a mercenary for the front lines, Asuna and I go fight there on and off. There's not much to say there. She's really fast though! I'd like to introduce you sometime.

We could meet up if you want. Remember, if you're party or guild can't let you make it here, don't sweat it. I'm not an important priority, got it?

I gotta say, I don't regret separating that day, not because I didn't enjoy working with you, but because I realize now that I often put you in danger, and I would do that more than ever now I'm fighting in the front lines. Your safety is number one to me. After all, I promised, didn't I?

Well, gotta go, Asuna-san is waiting for me. See ya!

Tensei

I sent the message quickly, then got up and ran to the town market, where Asuna told me to meet her after I bought the teleportation crystals we came for. "...two, three, four... that should be enough..." I muttered under my breath, counting the crystals. They were a one-use-only item, so we needed at least two each in emergencies.

In the months we had begun the journey from the first floor boss, people had sped up tremendously. It took people a month to gear themselves up for the first boss, but we'd cleared up to Floor 28 in another 5 months. I'd heard no word from Kirito, since he hadn't bothered to add us as friends that day. God knew where he ended up. I could only fervently hope he was alive.

I'd grown much taller too. I guessed that, with all the time I spent here, I was growing in the real world.

Eventually, I arrived at the town market, where Asuna was waiting. She was sitting at an outdoor table for public use, apparently arranging her inventory. "Where are we off to today?"

She didn't smile, only tapped her fingers impatiently on the table. "Isn't it obvious?" I could only shrug, at which she sighed frustratedly. "C'mon. Let's get to the dungeon, we took yesterday off, after all."

Something was bothering her. I knew what it was, or at least I thought I did. We made our way to the dungeon.  
Asuna unsheathed her weapon as we entered the darker dungeon. "The boss for this floor isn't easy to find. The whole of the front lines have been searching, but its been three weeks and no one's managed to find it. So now, The Knights of Blood Oath are asking for someone to find and map the area so that they can strategize and get ready for this boss." She sighed. I knew that it was bothering her. Every delay that we made in finding and clearing floors that made us slower than our usual rate of a rough one-floor-per-two-weeks made her spur to help the front lines. We were an odd group there. The front lines mainly consisted of guilds, or the odd solo player. But we were the only pair in the front lines. Pairs were rare, since they were deemed inefficient for experience points.

"Alright... Let's go then." I brought out my map from the menu and began walking. Mapping an area in SAO simply involved one person holding a map out while walking. This did, however, indeed mean that the mapper would be vulnerable to attack, because closing the map took at least 2 seconds. It was risky, which was why it was guilds and pairs that could map best. One mapped, the other lead the way, weapon in hand. It was painfully obvious who was doing that job. It went smoothly, until I stepped on a patch of rock, no different as the surrounding patch of rock, which crumbled beneath my feet.

"Tensei-kun!" Asuna screamed. It was the last thing I heard before I hit the bottom. On landing, pain was reduced, but noticeable, and more importantly, my legs came numb and I found myself immobilised for 10 seconds. As though it wasn't enough, three "wild apes" came out from the darkness.

"Stay up there!" I roared upwards, closing the map hastily. "We don't need two front-liners down!" Inwardly, I cursed myself for falling for the trap so easily. I unsheathed a pair of steel knives, serrated and much more powerful than the knives I had 6 months ago. It would be more difficult than ever. No... It wouldn't be possible... 10 seconds didn't sound like a lot, but 10 seconds among a pack of wild apes, forced to kneel, wasn't exactly an ideal situation.

_No time to take out a teleportation crystal either..._

The apes roared and launched themselves at me. I lowered my body, causing many to bash into each other. I used the confusion to my advantage, slicing as fast as I could, switching between forehand and backhand to take as many down with me as possible.

Six...

I stabbed the ground with both knives and propelled myself to the side, a split second before a fist came down where my head had been.

Five...

I cut the offending ape's arm multiple times, causing it to rear back in pain. No time to relax, a second one threw it's fist at me.

Four...

I crossed the knives and held my stance. The fist hit me, but also embedded my knives in it.

Three...

As it roared, I forced the knife out of its fist, causing the 'bleed' status effect, which made it rapidly lose health, faster than poison. Just as I began to breathe, a third ape grabbed my useless legs and tossed me to the wall.

Two...

I hit the rocky surface, seeing my health fall to yellow. The wild ape launched itself after me and beat me into the wall. My health fell below red.

One...

_So close..._ I was going to die. I knew it. The one second of immobility would be my last second alive. The ape drew back it's fist, grinning bloodthirstily and...

A hilt appeared at its head. A solid silver rapier hilt.

The ape yelped as it got batted aside. I caught a hint of a ruby-red crystal, then a white light, and I saw my health go back up, just past the yellow zone.

Zero!

Energy coursed through my legs. As an instant reaction, I kicked off the wall, flipping over Asuna and the ape behind her, poised to strike. Upside down in the air, I took careful aim and anchored a knife in the back of it's neck.

It roared and backpedalled. I took no notice of it's deafening roar and charged up my knife skill... No! I Instinctively jumped off of it, not even managing to take my knife out of its neck, just in time to see another ape tackle it instead of me by mistake. The force of the blow shoved the knife deeper into its neck, finishing it. The ape fell over and shattered into white pieces. I used my already-charged knife in my right hand and leapt forwards, slashing the mad creature in two.

I was about to pick up the fallen knife when I saw Asuna, in front of me, push me aside, throwing herself onto the ground at the same time.. The movement saved my life, and hers. The final ape had launched itself at her in a full body slam. Asuna jumped up and charged at it with her rapier, and then... a flash of green light as her infamous multi-hit skill took over, and she finished the ape.

I sank to a sitting position, exhausted. Smiling weakly, eyes closed, I began to say "Thanks, Asuna," but in actual fact, didn't get any further than "Th-" before she hit me in the face.

My eyes flew open and my hand flew up to the part of my face that she hit. Asuna scolded me. "Idiot! What was that? 'Stay up there? We don't need two front-liners down?' _Neither_ of us need to go down! I'm part of your party, Tensei-kun, don't try to do everything on your own!" She was breathing hard, despite not having taken a hit herself. I rubbed the back of my neck and bowed it. "Sorry, Asuna-san." I couldn't say anything else. She simply sighed. I looked up at the hole. "Well... I think there's only one way up, I don't want to waste the teleport crystals." Asuna looked at me, confused. I winked. "Just hang on."

I walked over to the wall nearest to the hole, then stabbed a knife into it. "Asuna-san, climb on my back, will you? I won't have hands to carry you or anything."

Asuna frowned. "What are you going to do?" She watched me uncork a potion bottle and drink it, rejuvenating me back to full health.

"Climb." I said it as though it was the simplest thing in the world, like a walk in the park. I motioned for her to hold onto my back. She held on, arms over my shoulders and legs above mine. I was surprised to find that she wasn't all that heavy, considering she was about half an inch taller then me. Without another word, I began climbing.

It was a strenuous process. I would stab a knife into the wall, then reach up, stab the wall again with a second knife, then pull the other knife out with my lower hand, reach up, stab, wash, rinse, repeat. I managed to do it alone before, practising in secret, leaving score-marks on the buildings of safe-towns, but never with a passenger, and never for so high. I kept at it, though.

Asuna was silent the whole time, not even answering my calls of "hold on". It took a long time, but we finally reached the top, and I collapsed, panting. She seemed strangely embarrassed. "Sorry for making you carry me all the way up." She said, finally, quietly.

"No problems..." I was still panting hard. "I shouldn't have... fallen in... in the first place..." We sat for a while, regaining our breath.

"Hey." I said after a while. "You know how the boss dungeon was supposed to be hard to find?"

"Yeah... what about it?"

"Isn't that it?" I pointed at a large, round door in the wall ahead of us, hidden by a wall of fallen rocks. Asuna simple stared, confused. I grew frustrated after a minute and stood up, walking over to the wall. "Asuna, can you help my push this?" I asked, beginning to push a large boulder at the bottom of the pile. She stared, nonplussed, but helped me pushed it anyway. The boulder budged. Shifted. Rolled away, making the pile unstable, and it fell away. The door was much more obvious now. Asuna gaped. "Tensei-kun, that's amazing! How high is your detection skill?"

I checked my stats absentmindedly. "I dunno, I forgot... Its... huh. It's 156." I swore, Asuna's jaw would break if it went any lower, so I chuckled and said quickly, "C'mon. Let's get the map data to the Blood knights of Oats."

"Knights of Blood Oath!"  
"Whatever." I smirked, taking out a teleportation crystal. She did the same, still chuckling at my detection skills.

,

"Amazing! Absolutely stunning!" The man in white cloak and armour seemed excessively happy over the map data.

Asuna smiled. We had gone to the Knights of Blood Oath and their headquarters and presented the map data, at which we were quickly hustled to the leader of the area. "It's mapped out so well! And...well... That's the entire area... except for this miniscule area here." he pointed to a tiny black spot on the map.

"Oh, don't worry about that, that's the part where I fel-, I mean, that's the one part we exited at. We ran into a small obstacle, and had to teleport out after that. That's where the boss it."

The man chuckled. "You have our thanks... May I ask your names?"

Asuna beat me to it. "My name is Asuna, this is Tensei-kun."

"Oh? The frontline pair? Then, you must be Asuna, the Flash!"

I blinked. "Er... 'Flash...?' I didn't know you had a stage name." I laughed a little, knowing it would rile her up a bit. As predicted, she slapped me over the head lightly.

"Hell if I knew it! I didn't know people called me something else..."

The man shook his head quickly. "No, no, you must be! You are famous amongst the front lines, young lady!" He grinned. "Actually, I was originally going to give you two a money reward, but I have a better idea." He opened up a menu, and sent us invites... _Party invites...? Why..? Wait..._

The man's grinned widened. "No, those aren't party invites. You have both been officially invited by the Knights of Blood Oath to join our guild!"  
Stunned silence. Asuna looked at me, my surprise reflected in her face. The man continued. "You'll both be immensely useful to us! What with you you're immense speed, miss Flash-" She flinched at her assigned name, "-and your immense detection skill, you would fit in flawlessly!"  
Asuna nodded. Then mulled it over. We shared looks, then I shrugged. She nodded at the man. "Okay.. I accept!" She moved her finger to the readout and tapped accept. I moved my finger to the readout as well, clicking the decline button.

"Okay! Let's move on and get you two registered! We-" He paused. "Young man... was that a mistake?"

I shrugged in the same way, making Asuna's head turn so fast, her neck cracked. "No. It wasn't. I'm sorry, I have zero interest in joining your guild. I prefer to hop on and off the front lines, which is something, I'm sure, not permitted, yes?" The man nodded. His face fell slightly. "Well, there you are." I continued. "I'm sorry, I'll take this world at my own pace."

"Hmm... If you're sure..."

Asuna stopped him. "Tensei! What are you doing?" she dragged me over to a corner, surprising the man. "Why aren't you coming? I thought we were a team!" I took a breath, registering the renewed use of my name without honorific.

"Not if it means killing my routine. I always take time away from front lines. Why? Because, while I'm here in SAO, I don't intend to just play the game, I intend to _live _it. That's what the free time is for.

Asuna looked troubled. "What will you do?"

"I dunno. What I've always done, I guess." I smiled. "I once learned, a long time ago, the value of splitting up, Asuna, to fill the wants of all members involved. It's a great thing for you, Asuna... the Flash." I grinned a little, then sobered up. "But not for me."

Asuna didn't look happy, but nodded. Unexpectedly, she ruffled my hair, the same way I would have done to Silica. "Good luck, Tensei. We'll see each other again..."  
The man smiled and greeted Asuna , leading her deeper into the building. Asuna whispered something in his ear, then he stopped, and nodded. He turned to me from across the room. "Boy!" He called. I turned to him, only to find a brown cloth bag being flung at me. I caught it, looked inside and found a small mythril gem, along with 5000 cor. It was a lot of money for map data, about equivalent to 150000 yen. The Knights must have been loaded.  
I stared at my reward, and wondered silently whether Asuna had enjoyed hers.

**T/N: I know, that was quick. Asuna is a difficult character to work with, I have to say. She's supposed to be stern-ish character, but can be happy. She holds pride in herself, which increases later as she becomes the Vice-commander of the Knights. But hey, what can I say?**

**Review corner**

**Stellar spirit: Does the chapter answer your question? xDDD**

**Well, See you all next chapter! And I'm having a bit of writers block, so let me take some time for the next one.**

**Tensei out!**


	6. Chapter 6: Just a little while

_**Chapter 6 - Just a little while**_

I didn't know how the story got about. Maybe the man from the Knights of Blood Oath had simply let a few words slip. Maybe even Asuna did. Or maybe someone simply saw me at work. Either way, it hadn't been long before I was bombarded by requests for party and guild invites, at almost every town I went, though admittedly, I had only been to two in recent times. Somehow, word of the level 36, versatile knife-man with a detection skill of over a hundred and fifty points had spread far and wide. And they all wanted me in their group. And fast.

I literally found myself in the middle of a town plaza, surrounded by about 4 people from 3 different guilds, asking me to join. Names passed by my mind, then exited out the other way, guild names like "The Lightning Warriors", "Taftas", "The Vocaloid". I had to laugh at the reference of the last name. Or I would have, but people were surrounding me, and I had no intention of offending them.

"Look guys, I may or may not plan to join a guild, but pestering me will only make me _not_ want to join you!" I eventually shouted, frustrated by the fact I couldn't even go out grinding without someone trying to prove that they would be a fine party/partner and killing my target monster. I wish I hadn't said anything at all though. Their faces lit up, plainly telling me that they only heard the part about planning to join a guild, and they pushed harder than ever. I was close to swearing at that point.

I managed to lose them in the labyrinth that was the town, giving them the slip near a quiet inn. I entered the inn and swore when I saw that I had lost most of the day thanks to them. It was already 5:30.

The innkeeper, an NPC, was quite oblivious to my... problem and smiled at me. "Good day, sir, would you like a room for the night?" If it wasn't for the fact that I knew he was simply an NPC, I would have hit him. I simply grunted an affirmative, and he replied, "That will be 50 cor the night, sir." I handed it over, privately hoping that no one in the inn was going to pester me to join their guild.

It wasn't too long until I was in my paid room, wishing I thought of something to do. That was the trouble with being stuck in SAO. Going AFK wasn't exactly an option. Hell if it was, I think I'd be a lot happier, and a lot more people would be less... dead.

It might have sounded funny when I put it that way, but death was nothing to joke about, no matter how many times I thought about it. But somehow, in the midst of this game... no, I couldn't call it that. In the midst of this world... I could almost enjoy myself, the main reason I played it solo, hopping on and off the front lines. On those days, I came back to the quieter, nicer spots, not only to level up slowly, but to soak in the world that was SAO. My two favourite spots by far were a bar on the 22nd floor, and the stream on the first floor that I visited 6 months ago, with S-

Ding!

I looked up to find a message sent to me, with a little yellow tag on it. Only one person on my friends list showed up with that colour tag, the very first friend I made in this world. I opened it tentatively.

Tensei,

OH MY GOD, you didn't message me in so long I thought you died! That's not a joke! I've been worried about you D:

Sure, we could meet up! I'm in a temporary party with some other older guys, but I don't like the way they treat me much. Don't worry too much, I've been wanting to leave this party for a while, I'll tell you all about it when I'm with you!

Asuna sounds like a really nice person! Maybe you should bring her with you when we get together, she sounds nice! :D

Really though, Tensei! It was kinda nice to see you say those things about protecting me and all, but it's unnecessary now! I'm fine! I do need to find a guild, but I'm fine xD

Let's get together at the 21st floor bar area, tomorrow at ten in the morningthere's a nice little bench area in the town next to wolf plains. I think you should know the place, Mr "I-know-where-everything-is" beta-tester!. Unless you got something, let's get together tomorrow! :3

I'm still mad at you for making me think you died :o

Silica

The message was riddled with emotes and exclamation marks, not surprising me one bit. As I read the message, I chuckled harder and harder at it. Ironically, I did know the place, even though it wasn't because of my Beta testing knowledge, which had outlived its usefulness long ago. Of course, I wouldn't be able to bring Asuna along, but it would still be fun.

_Now how am I going to get dinner while keeping away the crowd?_

,

I opened my eyes to a safe-town opposite wolf plains. That's how floor-jumping worked, you would use a teleportation crystal, and moments later, it was too bright to see. When you could see, you would be in the middle of the floor's spawn town.

As it was, I had 20 minutes to get to the town on the other side of wolf plains. I wouldn't be hard, but running would definitely be involved. And run I did. It had been half a year since I had seen the girl. Ah, how time flew.

As I began to "Dash", a passive but useful skill that allowed me to run twice as fast as the average SAO player could, I sped past wolf plains. Wolf Plains was my favourite grinding spot back when the experience they gave me was actually worth my time, and thanks to that, I could navigate the plains with relative ease, knowing the quickest way to get to the other side, without having to fight too many-

A growl in front of me shook me from my thoughts. A large, blood-red wolf stood in the path. I didn't even blink, taking out a single knife and charged it. The wolf seemed disgruntled by my lack of slowing down and panicking, and leapt for my throat. It didn't even get close, however, when I performed a flawless uppercut, slicing it from head to toe. By the time it died properly, I was long gone.

As you might expect, I made it to the meeting area pretty soon. The town was fairly quiet, but by no means a ghost town. It felt nice and fresh, a fountain in the middle of the square, surrounded by benches, the cobblestone streets paved the ways for plenty of players to roam about their business. A party of 5 people walked by, roaring with laughter, perhaps at a joke one told. It made me think. Oddly enough, I hadn't interacted with the community much. If I had to list friends of mine from the world of SAO, I could probably count very few. Experimentally, I tried to anyway. Asuna, Silica, Agil... Kirito? I guess I might count him... That, a few common NPCs, and a warrior who had once tried to help us in the 26th floor boss named Dale... I lost contact with him though. Probably because he was more interested in flirting with Asuna than actually being friends. He came good when the time came, though, knowing his priorities in the boss fight.

"TENSEI!"  
I suddenly felt a weight on my shoulders, pushing me over, making me fall flat on my face on the road. Only one person would do that.

I turned from my view of the floor and look up at the face of a very familiar looking, cheeky girl, wearing yellow shirt and long skirt, along with iron shoulder pads. The only thing that hadn't changed in her attire since the last time I saw her was the red hair bands that held up her twin tails.

"What, you couldn't make a normal entrance?" I asked. It was all in good humour, of course. I couldn't be happier to see the girl.  
"Nah, it's just that I thought I'd be taller than you by now, but you went ahead and grew half a foot. Cheater." She bent over and stuck her tongue out at me, having trouble hiding a giggle. Then she hugged me tightly, unable to stop her carefree laughter. "It's been so long!"

I laughed. As much as she had grown in the past half-year, I must have grown taller too, because I was now a good 3 inches taller than her. "Good to see you too, Silica."

,

"Soooo... How have things been, Mr Frontlines?" She giggled at my scowl.

We sat down at a restaurant beside the square. It was fairly crowded, but not overly so. We had already ordered a few dishes and were now simply waiting for them to arrive. I had a strange feeling I would be paying.

"Hey, I wanted to finish the game, right?" I retorted. Instead of carrying the argument, I answered her question. "It's been fine. I was working with a girl a year or two older than me, I mentioned her, right? Her name was Asuna."  
Silica cocked her head. "Yeah, it would be really good if I could see her though. Or is she invisible?" The sparkle in her eye grew. Somehow, she had a way of teasing me in a way no one else could. It was constant, but good-humoured, not at all annoying, in fact, I was quite enjoying it.

"No, she's not invisible. She joined the lead group of the front lines yesterday. The Bloody oaths of the night or whatever..."  
"The Knights of Blood Oath?" Silica gasped. "Tensei, they're the elite guild! Their at the very top of the charts, no one tops them!"  
An image of a black-haired boy holding a long blade with one hand, yet holding no shield, darted through my head. "Somehow, I think someone might have topped them." I stated mildly.

"But why did this Asuna person leave?" She seemed confused. I shook my head quickly.

"No no no, she didn't leave me, we both got invited, I just declined."

"I would have thought Mr Frontlines would have accepted that one."

"Nah... that's not how I like to take this world anymore." I leaned back in my chair, looking up at nothing in particular. "Over the past few months, I realised two very important things. Any day could be my last, and also, it's important to enjoy myself." I looked back at Silica, who smiled a very small smile. "If this is reality for a while, there's no reason for me to be depressed about it. I have to embrace it. Feel it. Live it."

Silica stared, then laughed aloud. "In the end, it all comes down to the same thing. We can take our time, right?" She beamed. "I'm glad you lightened up a bit... But I'm guessing, not enough to give up the front lines?"

I chuckled. "Nah. I jump on and off to give myself time to enjoy the world, but I'm still there... so yeah."

Silica touched the bottom of her lip with her finger. "Well, how about we party up for a while?"

I stared. "Not at the front lines!" She amended quickly. "I don't think I could handle it just yet! But... you know... why not?"  
"Sure! It'll be fun!" She seemed positively flustered with pleasure. "But no more than a week, okay? I don't think I should spend that long away. Who knows how many floors they'd clear in that time." I laughed. In reality, they'd probably manage a floor by then. They were a fast bunch, the front lines.

I would allow myself time to be with friends. Or to be precise, _a_ friend. Just for a little while.

,

Silica had indeed grown stronger. Wolf plains had been her preferred training ground, and we spent half the day there. Of course, who could resist the opportunity to show off?

Silica took out a steel-tipped, iron dagger, longer and more dangerous than her first weapon. In the time we'd been apart, she'd improved vastly. Surrounded by two wolves, she waited for the first to lunge, then ducked and drove her blade into the Carnivore, finishing it off quickly by a series of dagger-hilt hits. She jumped aside and yelled, "Switch!" I jumped in and took the hard way, making the first move on the wolf. That was almost never recommended, but like I said, who could resist showing off? With two blades, I made quick work of it's face, blinding it, immobilising it, then finishing it off in a matter of 5 seconds.

I walked back to Silica, grinning slightly. "Show off." She laughed. Then she read her victory window. I couldn't see much, except I caught a glimpse of "Level up! 32 - 33."

"Grats on the level up."

She beamed at me. "Why do I always level faster when I'm partied with you?" She half-joked. "I thought pairs were bad parties for experience."

"Because I'm totally awesome." I said sarcastically, ruffling her hair. Same reaction as ever. A slapped hand, a pout, then she would adjust her hair again.

"Well, that's what happens when you train with a front liner, Ten-chan!" She giggled.

I looked up. "Okay, what was THAT?"  
"What?" She protested. "I thought it was a cute nickname!"

Under normal circumstances, it would have been rude. But for her, I knew it was all in the fun. All the same, I growled, "Don't call me that!"

Silica's giggles grew louder. "Alright, Ten-chan!" She sang.

_Oh boy..._

**T/N: This one is a bit more of a filler than anything else. Every good story, in my opinion, has to have that one or two chapters that less seems to happen. It's like the quiet before a storm, kinda. **

**Yay, Silica and Tensei back as a team, bigger than ever :D I know, people couldn't wait. But it's only for a little while.**

**TIMESPACE REWIND, PLEASE READ THIS. Look, I made a few mistakes about Ten's age. Right now, his age is 14, he will only be 15 at the end of the year, making Silica only a little more than a year younger than him. If you look back in the story (you don't have to), you'll notice I changed that.**

**Oh well. Review corner!**

**RyuugaAsao - Hey, thanks again! I didn't like the idea of Ten in a guild, I don't know why... Maybe that's just me though. Thanks for the "Take your time" thing, means a lot to me. As for Silica, yeah. Look up, there she is. But not for long, unfortunately.**

**SulliMike23 - Naw, you don't expect me to spoil whether I want that or not now, do you? If you want, the answer's in the inbox, and the reason.**

**Awesome! Keep the reviews up guys, even if they're short, it gives me a real kick... boost... whatever xD**

**See you soon! I'm brainstorming new ideas... I'm not sure about the idea of an extra OC currently... Oddly enough, doesn't sit too well with me. This isn't an "Accepting OCs" story, so yeah. Sorry to disappoint, I've already got ideas in my head, none of which are drafted.**

**Wow. Long T/N. **

**Tensei out!**


	7. Chapter 7: A spark of memories

_**SAO Chapter 7 - A spark of memories**_

We'd been at it for 6 days now. Silica levelled up twice in this short time, and I had once myself. It was a fun time, showing off to each other, even having a friendly duel at one point.

That was an intense duel. Silica's dagger wasn't as fast as my twin knives, but every hit she connected brought my health down sharply. It was fast paced, close-quarters and a tough experience, fighting someone with an actual mind instead of AI. Towards the end, I managed to bring her health down to yellow.

"That was pretty good! You were amazing!" Silica smiled weakly. I could tell she was disappointed in herself though.

"Hey, Silica. You did awesome too." I put my hand on her shoulder and told her earnestly. "You're three levels below me, and I was an inch from defeat. That really says something there, doesn't it? Keep it up, and soon, you'll have the beating of me."

The smile grew back on her face. "Alright! You're on!"

"That wasn't a challenge, but sure." I shrugged nonchalantly at her peppy response.

I hadn't expected to stay like this for so long. I did say I'd be here for no more than a week, and it appeared I would have to stay at that promise.

The last day arrived pretty quickly. I had enjoyed myself, and was sorry to leave, but not sorry enough leave the front lines.

"So... Where should we go today?" I asked, when I met Silica again in the town square. She was significantly quieter, and I knew precisely why.

"Hey, Tensei... these past few days have been really fun. More fun than I've had in a very long time! But... I know you won't leave the front lines..." She looked down at her feet miserably. She was right about that much. I wouldn't just leave the front lines. But she looked up at me with eyes that I felt were filled with desperation "So...! Tensei! Can you... Can you please take me to the front lines?"

The air from my lungs seemed to disappear at that moment, then I took a deep breath, attempting to refill them. "Silica... that's really sweet of you, but it's really dangerous there! I-"  
"I know it's dangerous! But what if I grew to be strong, like you said I could be, and came to the front lines with you?" There was something wrong here, definitely. She would never want to go to the unknown dangers of the front lines. It didn't matter how much she liked partying up with me.

"Silica, don't you get it?" I felt my voice get louder, but I wasn't quite shouting... not yet. "I can't let you go up there with me! I don't want to see you d... injured! Think how that would weigh on my conscience that I could have protected you!" I stopped when I realised how loud I was. A couple from across the square was staring blankly, and a girl slightly older than me was giggling quietly from the entrance to the inn.

"I'm... sorry about that." Silica apologised quietly. "I just didn't want to go back to how things were before this... I wasn't very happy with the way things were..."

I calmed down further, wondering how bad it could have gotten. "Silica, what happened to the party of people you were with before we met up? You said they didn't treat you well or something?"

Silica's frustration at her former party was visibly obvious from the moment I said those words. "Ah... I didn't like them much, I might be 13 years old, but I can do things on my own!" She sighed, fingers tapping her thigh in restlessness. "I don't know why they kept me in their party if all they wanted me to do was sit back and watch them do all the work, but they insisted that I should do as little as possible!"

I began to understand how things had played out. Did these men have any specific reason to treat her like a team mascot? Probably nothing beyond the fact that she was pretty for her age. I shuddered a little at what these people might have really wanted from Silica. The Internet was weird these days... "I'm sorry to hear that Silica... What you need," I decided suddenly, "Is a party, or even a partner, even if it is just for a little while, until you find a guild that you like that accepts you." I smiled at her a little. "Guilds can be a bit of a hassle, I know, that's why I'm a solo player now. And I'll probably stay that way for a while. But for today, lets go have some fun somewhere else, alright?" I smiled at her, but she continued to smile her sad little smile.

I poked her cheek until she giggled at me. "What the heck are you doing, Tensei?"

"Nah, I was just trying to get your smile back to normal, it's so depressing." I smirked as she cried aloud in outrage, then ran before she could batter me to death.

,

I'm not sure how the day managed to fly by so quickly. What I did know was that by the time we sat in the middle of a grassy field, wet with dew, the sun was setting. We stared into the huge red sun, as though waiting for it to set.

"Hey, Tensei." Silica opened her inventory suddenly, searching for an item. "Remember this?" She selected an item and it materialized before her eyes in the palm of her hand, a green flute, one that we had for long ago when we fought a certain mini-phoenix.

"You kept that old thing?" I laughed. I would have thought that she'd have used it by now, the Phoenix phlute could only be used thrice, after all.

"It's got one more use in it." Silica grinned. "How about you do it for me, Tensei?"

I raised my eyebrow. "Well, the better the tune, the higher the chance of attracting something really rare... Seeing as I can only play the guitar, I'm not entirely sure this is a sane idea."

Silica pressed the flute in my hands regardless. "Don't worry, I trust you."

I was a little nervous as I stuck the flute between my lips. This was her last use, odd enough to give it to me, but... If she insisted. I blew softly and began playing a tranquil tune, quiet, subtle. I didn't know how to play, I barely knew what I was doing. But my fingers seemed moved up and down the miniature instrument on their own, and the tune that came was amazing.

Silica's sighs of contentment suddenly cut short, and the flute faded away in my hands. I was about to turn and look for monsters, when I saw why Silica had stopped moving.

It was about as big as a cat, but had shiny, ice-blue feathers covering its soft blue body. Instead of a tail, two long, beautiful feathers sprouted. I didn't attack. Not only because It was two inches from Silica's neck, but because its indicator, floating above its head, was grey.

"Tensei... What is it...? And why aren't you stopping it...?" I could tell her cognitive functions were beginning to give way to panic. I hushed her and smiled easily, calming her down.

"It's okay, Silica, in fact it's great. I just can't believe it..."

The creature was a feathered dragon. The rarest tamable pet in the game. Only due to my in depth research during the beta-test period did I uncover that certain extremely rare creatures could be tamed by certain people. Not everyone had the potential to, only certain players, and there was no way to find out the criteria. It had nothing to do with stats, levels, algorithms, just... chosen players. Was it possible that I could...

Even as I thought about it, the feathered dragon gave a strange shriek and flew gently off her back, then darted in front of Silica so quickly I thought it might attack, then looked at Silica dead in the face. I froze. If this creature decided we weren't the people to tame it, there was nothing I could do to save my younger companion. They were literally 4 inches apart.

It stuck out its tongue and licked her nose.

I gasped. "Silica, it worked!" She seemed to straighten slowly, still unsure whether it was a friend or a foe. "Look, it's indicator..." I pointed at it, still breathless. The grey indicator was flashing, brighter and brighter with a white light. Then, all at once, the light became too bright to look at. I looked away only for a second, but when I looked back, the indicator had turned a buttery yellow.

Silica stared. "What happened...?"

I smiled. "You've been chosen, Silica. It wants you as its new master." The dragon purred softly, then released a soft, glowing glitter from its mouth. The glow enveloped Silica, and I saw her minimally damaged health bar heal to maximum health. "Silica, you've just got yourself a pet dragon."

She looked in wonder at the ice-blue dragon, reaching out for it, then softly holding it in her arms. "...Pina..?" The creature cocked its head, as though it understood. "Your name is Pina... Got it?" A soft purr of agreement, and soon, Silica hugging.

She looked at me. "You don't have to explain too much, Tensei." A beam of happiness developing on her features. "All I need to know is that you got me the perfect companion. Thanks so much." She hugged me in gratefulness.

"Well, you needed someone anyway. I'm just glad I was able to help."

A very good day. It had to be said.

,

The town of the front lines was much busier than the one I had just left. Merchants or heal crystals dotted that streets, certain large buildings had been adopted as homes for the guild members and their party leaders, planning out their next moves. Then a group of people saw me and began walking towards me quickly. I coughed lightly, then ran away as fast as I could. Soon, their surprised faces were lost in the crowd.

I'd almost forgotten about the small plight I had been stuck in before I went to partner with Silica for a week. I was quickly reminded, however, when I came back to the front lines, and people began to pester me.

A red haired man in samurai gear approached me, and asked, "Oi, you got a guild at the moment?" My spirits dropped at that statement.

"I don't intend to join a guild! Please, just-"

"Wait up, hear me out! I've got an offer different from the rest of the lot!" I seriously doubted this, after all, what offer could he make me? A weapon to join? A fee for my services? Nah. Eventually, he caught up and panted. "Give me about 10 seconds to explain the offer, and then you can leave, alright?"

I stood still, holding my temper in check. "Make it quick." I snapped. Maybe I was acting to full of myself, maybe these people deserved to be heard, but of late, my temper and patience had become shorter, bubbling closer to the surface than it had been before any of this madness happened.

_Teenage angst?_ A voice in my head whispered.

_Shut up,_ I replied eloquently. I already had plenty of things on my mind without...me... making snide comments.

He interrupted my thoughts. "I'd just like to ask, do you want to merc with us for a while? We'll hold no responsibility or claims over you." I stopped. This was an offer I had not yet received... And it was definitely an upgrade. A team, without any of the hassle. But the fact remained that I would have to put more time into- "You can decide if you want to join or not afterwards! Heck, think of it like this, you'll be in our party, but any experience, items or reputation is yours to keep, and you don't have to join us all the time, even!" The man continued, grinning, now that it was clear that the offer piqued my interest. "Think of it as a trial period. If you don't like us, you can leave."

Compelled by the thought of being able to fight without people bother me about joining their team again, I shook the older man's hand. "You have a deal."

His grinned widened, then he began walking away, gesturing for me to follow. I did, cautiously.

"By the way, my name is Klein." He called over his shoulder. "Welcome to the Fuurinkazan."

,

The moon shone brightly that night. Drops of dew glistened like a field of diamonds, the cool, crisp night air making them look like ice.

Klein had taken me to a field in the night, determined that should meet the team and be tested with the team. I fervently hoped the team would help advance me. They were probably a front line guild, so they wouldn't hold me back, that much was for sure.

"Yo!" Klein shouted to field in general. "I got the new guy, he's mercing!"

Mercing was the term most guilds used when a new person was in their guild on probationary terms, to see if they liked it, how compatible they were with the team. These soloers that joined new guilds were referred to as mercs - mercenaries.

Within less than ten seconds, a team had assembled before Klein, all wearing similar maroon gear. As I was introduced to them, I only recognised one. He was a rather large man, very... wide. The last I saw of him, we had been fighting the 26th floor boss together.

"Dale!" I chuckled aloud. His face lit up when he recognised me. "Good to see you, man. You haven't slimmed down at all."

"And you haven't become any warmer, I see." He shot back, chortling. "Where did Asuna go? She's gained quite a reputation, she has. 'The Flash', they're calling her."

"Ah, she joined the Nights of Blurry Oats guild, apparently they're pretty good, and they offered for her to join."  
Dale didn't even bother to correct my naming of the guild. Klein chuckled. "Good to see you too are already so well acquainted! Now, let's split up. Issin, Harry One, Dynamm, Kunimittz, you're on the left field. Dale, Tensei, come with me." He snapped his fingers and motioned at the pack of Flame Hounds, 10 feet away, howling in the moonlight.

Dale took out a small knife, smaller than mine, then threw it at the wolves, causing it to fly through the air at an unspeakable speed. It struck the lead hound's eyes, effectively blinding it. It howled in pain, tearing the peace of the night apart. The three remaining canines looked at their leader, then snarled at us. Two quickly surrounded me - just my luck - and the other went to Klein.

No screwing around this time, Flame hounds were stronger than the wolves I had fought with Silica, and had to be taken seriously. They snarled, made taunting and fake lunges, waiting for me to react. Which I didn't.

One took a step too close to me, baring its teeth. I did a quick cut to its nose, making it yelp in pain. Wasting no time, I stabbed the side of its head. Maybe at the beginning of this challenge, I would have felt sympathy but now, within the last few months, I had learnt to separate my feelings for killing virtual monsters and things that actually meant anyth-

I roared at the pain in my leg as the other wolf had sunk its fangs deep into my right leg. It dragged me to the ground, leaving the other wolf to fall to the floor, whimpering at its wounds, and quickly bleeding to death from my serrated knife blows. The other hound snarled and bit harder. I watched my health drop down further, not quite at yellow, but not far off. I couldn't reach the monster, even as its fangs flared with an unnatural heat. What a way to get beaten; by a dog, right in front of my new teammates!

_Wait... Team mates!_  
"Dale!" I gasped. He finished off his own wolf with a broadsword hit to the right side of its head. He turned to me and leapt with the agility of which no one could associate with him without seeing it once before.

A bone crunching smash met my ears as the Flame hound got crushed by the flat side of Dale's enormous sword. He turned to me and used a heal crystal, bringing me back to full. "Watch out, Tensei!" He warned. "You've been getting careless, haven't ya?" We grinned at each other before Klein's voice broke the silence.

"Before you two hug each other like the bosom buddies you are, mind giving me a hand?" We turned, and saw Klein sparring with the lead Flame hound, who had partially regained vision.

We surrounded it and trapped it, subduing it before Klein charged up his skill, slashing straight through his adversary. He gave a small whistle of excitement, and turned to say something to us, but stopped. "...Hey! Oi, Kirito!"

Kirito... the name sparked the memory of a boy, only a little older than me, roaring as he cut through the middle of the first floor boss, Illfang. I whipped my head back, looking at the black-cloaked swordsman standing by the moonlight.

"Hey! Dale, could you join the other group a second and clean up the small fry?" Klein yelled back. I stopped Klein.  
"Let me come, I know him too." He nodded, then jogged uphill. Kirito looked none the worse for wear, staring at us both. Klein smiled at him brightly.

"I was just thinking we hadn't seen you for a while! You out leveling this late?" Kirito looked slightly uncomfortable, even though Klein appeared perfectly friendly. I couldn't help but notice this. What had he to be uncomfortable about? Klein was a nice guy, as far as I was concerned.

"Oh?" Klein's face stretched into an expression of amazement before Kirito could answer. "That mark on your health bar... Don't tell me you joined a guild!"  
"Y-yeah... I guess." He shifted, avoiding eye contact. There was definitely something afoot here.

Dale's voice floated from behind us. "We're done here! Lets move on!" Klein and I looked back instinctively, then turned back to Kirito, but he had already started walking past us.

"Bye, Klein, Tensei."

I stared at his retreating form, confused, wondering whether we had said something to offend him. Klein's normally flippant voice sighed. "Jeez... That still bothering you after all this time...?" He turned heel and walked back. "Tensei, come on, that's it for tonight. We'll see you in the morning."

Of course. I'd forgotten, I was only mercing for now. There was something off about this whole thing, but I decided not to probe it. Things would come in time. Who was I to ask about-

"Kyaaaa!"  
A high pitched scream from over the hill caused me to turn. What was that...? I looked around, "Klein...?", they must have all teleported back to their guild... But...

"Please! Anyone!" An unfamiliar, high pitched voice gasped loudly, followed by the ruffling of cloth and the barks of several wolves. "I... No! I didn't... Help... Please!" I began to climb the hill quickly. "I don't want to die!"

_I don't want to die!_

_I don't want to die!_

_I don't... _

**T/N: And there! I'm so sorry for the delay, karma bit me back in the ass for delaying school work so long! I'll be back to about one chapter per 1-2 weeks soon, so sorry about that.**

**Well! I did say this story wasn't accepting OCs, and I stick to that. Doesn't mean I won't add my own! We'll see what happens next chapter! NO PROMISES, but I might make write the next one and release it early to make up for the gap.**

**Reviews corner!**

**RyuugaAsao - Nice to hear from you again, your casual encouragement really helps :D I plan to be sparse with the filler chapters, but this isn't the last of them, I'll tell you, so sorry for disappointment xD**

**Forscythe - Well, thanks for reading my story in return! I agree, we should combine our brains, maybe we should meet up and do a brain transplant. xD. In all seriousness though, I'll keep tabs on your story, it's giving me ideas, but I won't plagiarise :D... well, maybe some concepts, but nothing too much, this still is my story, after all. **

**Well, that's it! See you soon guys!**

**Tensei out!**


	8. Chapter 8: Blacksmiths & info brokers

_**Chapter 8 - The blacksmith and the info broker**_

"Please! I'm begging you, just help!"

The girls hair was wild, her eyes filled with desperation. She was no older than me, with short hair reaching down to her shoulders, and rich brown eyes. I drew my knives and cursed myself. Why did I have to be such a hero?

I didn't know who she was, but she was surrounded by four hounds, all wounded, but not seriously. Running at the pack, I repelled them, causing two to start bleeding. I cried aloud as one tackled the back of my legs. Instead of defending myself, I tossed the girl a crystal. "Teleport to Tao, don't argue! I'll follow in a couple of min- woah!" I narrowly dodged a fire-imbued paw passing by my face, then seamlessly executed an uppercut, striking the hound's chin. I heard a cry of, "Teleport! Ta-AAAH!"

I couldn't even see the girl, I only saw Flame hound paws. I stuck my knives into the creatures rib cage and killed it, turning to see the remaining two hounds, ravaging the poor girl. I scrambled to my feet and dived at the wolf, preparing my knife skill, 'Close combat crush', a quick, inhumanly fast combo, and beat one of the hounds into the ground, turned to the other and-

"KYAAAAA-"

The scream of pain burst from the girl in pure terror, fear, desperation as her health bar decreased past red, the flame hound attacking her head, until, with a final scream, her body disintegrated, and blew apart, the data-like fragments blowing away like dust.

I stared. The girl had died. A girl who I had never seen before was terrified enough to ask a stranger for help, being attacked by wolves... had died.

Even as I killed the remaining hound, I was completely silent, shock set into my features. To see a person die right in front of my eyes, close to that person or not, broke my thought process. Somewhere in the other world, a girl with light brown eyes and black hair had just had her brain destroyed by the microwave radiation of the NerveGear. It was odd. I didn't even know her, yet I already felt the beginnings of guilt. If I hadn't hesitated, would she still be alive?

Didn't that make me as bad as a player killer?

,

It had been a little less than a month since I had began working with Klein's guild, the Fuurinkazan. They were practically my best friends by now, even though I still hadn't fully joined the guild, and I didn't go to their headquarters after a long day out.

Despite all this, I was a little quieter now, a little less outspoken than that day when Klein walked up to me and offered me a place in his guild, that day I saw Kirito again, that day when I saw an innocent girl die before my eyes. Over time, the terrible event that unfolded that day humbled me, made me remember that being high-leveled, being strong, was not what was important. It humbled me greatly. I wasn't the quiet outsider now, but definitely not the same boy who was so quickly irritated and proud of his skill.

Now, after a month of working with the Fuurinkazan, helping them clear a couple of bosses, grind, growing strong alongside them, I had come to a decision.

I walked up to Klein, sat at a table in the middle of town. "Oh? Tensei, what's up?" I smiled in return as he quickly closed his player menu.

"I've worked alongside you guys for about a month. And I've finally decided Klein. I really loved working with you all. You made me feel welcome."

"But I can't join." Klein's grin vanished, to be replaced by a look of mixed disappointment and regret to see me go. "I'm sorry, Klein. There's an aspect of guilds I can't seem to fully appreciate, I don't know why. There will be someone better than me."

Klein scratched the back of his head. "Well... It's been fun, Tensei, it really has. And you'll always be welcome with us!" He grin returned in full force. "I'll see you at the front lines."

"Yeah." I bumped his fist with mine and waved off as I walked away. "Thanks Klein."

Walking the streets, I thought vaguely about buying or upgrading a weapon. My current knives, the Falchioners, were actually a monster drop. Slightly heavier than normal, but by no means slow, they had a small chance of stunning an enemy every time I stuck it. But instead of finding a blacksmith, I saw someone else very familiar, in a certain clan building, over viewing a map of plans. She had long, flowing, golden-orange hair, wore a white uniform and held a rapier, its sheath strapped to her side.

"Asuna-san!"

She turned and saw me, then waved me to come over in a less-than-cordial fashion.

"Tensei, how've you been?" She greeted stiffly.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just-"

"Well lets meet up after this." She cut across me. "I'm actually in a meeting." With that, she turned and went straight back into the meeting as though nothing had happened. I frowned slightly, then sighed and continued my search.

The Knights of Blood Oath had been gaining both members and reputation rapidly of late. Asuna had indeed been spending a lot of time at the front lines. She had been at the last 4 boss battles, as quick as ever, if not quicker. But after every battle, the only satisfaction on her face was the type that suggested that she was already prepared for the next floor boss. It didn't take long for me to realize that she became one of many who were hellbent on completing the game as soon as possible. There was nothing wrong with the idea of clearing the game quickly. But for me, if clearing the front was going to take a few years, I had no intention of making the clearing of the game my job, my chore. That was what made me decline the invite to the Knights that day.

I simply waited for the message to come.

,

"So... How have you been?"

"Busy... I guess." I sat, sipping a cup of peppermint tea, Asuna sitting across, drinking coffee. We had sat ourselves at a small cafe

"I'm sorry about how stiff I acted back at the meeting." She frowned a little. "The meeting was supposed to be a quick one about how to take the next floor boss, so the leaders of the Knights of Blood Oath are pretty strict about not having distractions in a meeting."

"Leaders?" I repeated. "Jeez, Asuna-san, I guessed you made it up the ranks quickly, but if you're already discussing matters with the top guild in this world..."

"Oh, they made me Vice Captain last week." She replied nonchalantly.

I whistled. Vice Captain in three weeks, not an easy feat. Though evidently, she didn't think it was such a big deal. Changing the topic, I looked at her curiously. "Hey, Asuna, where did you get the new rapier from?" I noticed the new ornately designed rapier earlier on.

"Ah... most of the Knights of Blood Oath go to a special blacksmith specifically for the guild, but I found someone better than him, so I go there for my weapon upgrades and repairs. Why the sudden interest?" She cocked her head at me.

"Oh nothing special, I was just looking for somewhere I could find new weapons. My old ones are wearing out, and they're getting pretty weak compared to the stuff we're fighting."

"I'll introduce you afterwards." She decided quickly.

There was a silence that followed, in which I felt both of us were thinking back, how the past 7 months had altered our personalities so much. We were not the same people we were in the other world. I could vividly recall Asuna before the first boss. So quiet, certain of herself, but unwilling to lose herself in the game. How different we were.

"W-what is it?"

I shook myself out of my thoughts, as I realised I'd been staring at her. "N-nothing much... just thinking how long we've been in this world..."

Asuna didn't answer. Simply got up and gestured for me to follow. I hastily followed after her, tossing enough cor on the table to pay for our drinks. As we stepped into the busy street, I heard whispers behind us, from the sides of streets. "What is the guy doing with the Flash?" "He isn't from the Knights of Blood Oath, is he?" "He's not in uniform, I don't think so..."

I ignored these whispers and followed Asuna. "Where are we going again?"

She didn't stop to turn back. "Introducing you to a blacksmith. She's the best I know."

_She? _I wasn't sexist, but the fact remained that there were very few female blacksmiths. It was precise, tough work, not things that would attract most females.

We eventually came to a small, unremarkable shop. Bells rang as I opened the door. It was small, but clean and bright. The shop walls had weapon after weapon hung on them, from hunting spears to short swords and long swords, daggers, the list went on. A cheery-sounding voice rang from the back of the shop. "Yes! Hold up a minute, I'm just coming!" Following this came the sound of footsteps, then the blacksmith appeared in the doorway.

"Welcome to Lisbeth's Smith Shop!" She greeted happily. There wasn't a lot of her that wasn't pink, from her pink dress to her dyed pink hair. _Is she... really a blacksmith?_ I couldn't stop myself thinking that she might not be. But if Asuna trusted her...

"Ah, Lisbeth!" Asuna smiled warmly. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Not as long as you think, only a week." The blacksmith named Lisbeth chuckled. She noticed me behind Asuna. "And who might this little man be?"

But before Asuna could explain, Asuna's message alert beeped loudly. She excused herself quickly, and opened the message. What was it...? She gasped aloud and turned to us, who exchanged confused glances. "I'm so sorry, Tensei-kun, Liz, it's an emergency!" And just like that, she dashed out the shop, leaving me utterly lost at what had just happened.

"U-um..." Lisbeth evidently was trying to take all this into stride. "So... What can I do for you... Tensei, was it?"

I shrugged at what had just happened. "Ah... Well, I was actually looking for a pair of knives better than my current ones..."

Lisbeth frowned. "Do you know, I think you're the only one left using dual knives. Most people find that they're too fast, too light to be of much use."

"Oh..." That was off for me. I found nothing wrong with the knives. Agreed, the damage output was low, but that was the entire point of the knives, wasnt it? Inhumane speed at the price of damage per blow.

"Have you thought about changing weapons?" Lisbeth suggested. "Most people who desert knives aren't half bad at one-handed daggers, you know."

I thought back to Silica's one-handed dagger and shook my head. "That's not a good idea, I think... What about one-handed swords?"

Lisbeth frowned a little. "Those two styles are completely different... But you could always give it a try..." She turned around and picked up a one-handed sword, rather thin, but quick looking. "This is my finest creation to date. I'm not planning on giving it to you like that, but why don't you swing it around and give it a try?"

I took the sword and unsheathed it. It was much heavier than my knives... I tested it further, swinging it in a few directions experimentally.

"Hey... Lisbeth, sorry, but I'm going to actually have to stick to knives. How much would it take for you to forge a pair from scratch?"

"It's more than just cost here, Tensei-kun. Can I see your current ones?" I obliged, placing the Falchioners on the desk. She examined them, sizing them up. "Falchioners... Quick, stun percentage 5% per strike, high attack power for daggers..." She bit her lip. Was it really that hard to create daggers?

"I could do it, but I'd need the material..." She said finally, looking at me. "Would you be willing to help me find material for the daggers?"

"Sure... What do we need?" I was pretty desperate for better daggers after all.

"We would need a mythril ingot... And you'd need a blacksmith like myself to collect material, so I'd need to be there with you. But I'm not sure where I could find those." I didn't know either. I doubted a whole lot of people knew. Mythril ingots were A class crafting ingredients, extremely rare and not available for purchase at material shops.

"I don't know where to find them," I turned to her, "but I know who does." She looked at me in anticipation. I sighed a little. The person I had in mind was an odd one, and despite her claims that she liked my style, I was more convinced it was my cor she was after.

"Time to pay a visit to Argo, the info broker."

,

It was in the back alley of a quiet town that I stopped. Lisbeth had stayed true to her promise and followed me here, but I had warned her beforehand. "When we get there, let me do the talking first, and whatever you do, don't yell or make a loud noise." The instructions confused her greatly, as I knew they would.

The alley wasn't bright, or even clean. Typical info-broker to arrange such a sneaky-looking rendezvous.

I felt cold metal press against my throat. A gasp escaped Lisbeth's lips, alerting me to the fact that she had the same on her own throat. I sighed softly, then chuckled, pushing the blade away from my throat. "Argo. I always could sense you a mile away."

"Not true!" A peeved female voice came from behind, as she took the knife away from Lisbeth's throat as well. "No one sees me coming!"

"I think I just did." I smirked. Casting an amused eye over Lisbeth's frightened form, I tutted. "Seems you've scared my partner before she even knew you. Shame on you."

The figure sidled from behind us, then appeared in front of us and turned, tossing her hood off, her short, brown hair flew in both directions. People who didn't know her well could have asked why she had rat whiskers on her face, but I knew better than to tell people about it. "So, Ka-bou, what do you need?"

"What makes you think I need something?" I shot back.

"Coming to an info broker for a simple visit? I think not, Ka-bou." She retorted.

Lisbeth interrupted our conversation meekly, "Umm... Am I missing something? I thought his name was Tensei."

"It is." I answer. Argo raised her eyebrow, throwing me a look that screams, 'Does she really need to know?'

"It can't hurt to tell you." I press on regardless. "She knows me in the other world, in real life, so she refers to me like that."

"Yup! Because his real name is K-mph!" I stopped the words coming out her mouth just in time.

"What kind of info broker are you if you let information out so easy?" She stuck her tongue out at me, then gave a mock salute to Lisbeth. Ignoring this, I turned to the pink-haired blacksmith. "Lisbeth, let me introduce you to Argo, a player from the beta test that has a knack for picking up information where most can't find it.

"No really, Ka-bou, what do you want?"

"How much would it cost to ask where I could find solid mythril ore?"

A mischievous grin appeared on her marked face. "That will be about... 4000 cor."

Typical Argo, high prices for any information. In fact, this was pretty low by her standards. Even so, Lisbeth coughed in surprise at the price. "3000?" I shot back.

She didn't even consider it. "4000 is only because it's you, don't push it, Ka-bou."

Only because it was me, huh? I gave a wicked grin. "3300, and I'll get you Ramu soda every week for a year when we get out of here." Knowing Argo's tastes came in useful when haggling - she loved Ramu soda. Her eyes brightened up, filling with the memory of a happier time when Ramu soda was readily available. But then they dimmed slightly.

"IF we get out of here." She murmured. I realized how despondent Argo had gotten in this world. I tapped her forehead with my knuckles.

"Nope. When." She looked up at me, and I smiled. "Now, deal?"

"Deal." She sealed the deal with a hard handshake. Her eyes sparkled with gratitude for a moment, then it was all business again. I dropped a bag of cor into her hand, which she transferred to her inventory.

"Well, Ka-bou, and... miss blacksmith, I'll tell you what you need to know. There is a boss that will appear if a blacksmith is in the party, and if she's holding an upgradable weapon. You also have to be on the 32nd floor at night in..." Argo pulled out map data to show us, then flipped it sos we could see. "...This cave. Not a lot of people know, so it should be fairly obscure. The point is, if you defeat it, it drops a huge mythril ore... " She gave a kind of unhappy grin to follow, more of a grimace. "It's extremely protective of itself, and it's actually a defense-based boss, which means you won't be able to take this alone, Ka-bou."

I sighed. Defense based bosses were especially well defended against knifers like myself. Before I could come up with a plan, Lisbeth tapped me on the shoulder. "One thing you should know, then Tensei-kun, us blacksmiths have a ridiculously high strength stat. Combine that with the fact that I use a mace, then we can work this together!"

I sighed, a grin of relief etching itself on my features. "Awesome! Thanks a lot, Yu-... Argo." Argo didn't nod, she just stared at Lisbeth, who was the slightly taller of the two girls.

"Ah... Of course. Ka-bou, could you give me a second with your friend here?" Without waiting for an answer, she pushed past me and dragged Lisbeth around the corner.

_What the heck? _I thought to myself, nonplussed. What was so interesting or worrying about Lisbeth that wasn't for my ears? I had no idea what they were doing behind the corner, I couldn't even hear them, despite it being about only 5 metres away.

Eventually, they both came out, both with oddly pink, blushing faces. _What was that all about?_ I said the question aloud, but Argo only walked off, leaving me utterly confused. "Um... Lisbeth?"

She simply started chuckling lightly, in spite of herself. "You must be really nice to her in real life, Tensei-kun, she likes you a lot."

With that, she walked out the alleyway. "It's getting late, let's go tomorrow, yeah?" She called back.

_Umm... Of course she'd like me, I'm her friend right?_

Shaking my head, I left the alleyway.

**T/N: Not a long one this time, I'll keep it short. Thanks a lot for all the followers I'm getting! It's a large number for me!**

**Reviews:**

**RyuugaAsao - I would answer you, but my inexperience makes me completely confused with what an arc is. xD**

**Thanks all, I gotta leave now, **

**Tensei out!**


	9. Chapter 9: PK

_**Chapter 9 - PK**_

Dale disintegrated into death particles. Then Klein. Argo stood behind them, holding a black sword. I didn't understand. Why? In real life, she was a kind person, if a little eccentric, but not evil. Then I saw the strings. The strings attached to her limbs, controlling them, not like a puppet, but with fluid motion. The controlled Argo lifted a small but deadly sword, charging it up and causing it to shine bright red. Then she lunged.

The scene dissolved just in time, the dagger just breaking into dust as it reached my throat. Then the world around me reformed. Lisbeth appeared before me, her face is oddly pink, flushed. Then I notice something. It was far too huge, as though I'd shrunk. Her giant face approached me, then her eye came into view, as big as her face was a second ago. Soon, I was engulfed by the pink. I can't see anything but pink, whichever direction I look. The pink darkens to a violet, then a maroon, and soon, blood red. A cloaked game master appeared before me, then brought up its gloved hands and clapped. I didn't know why, every time his hands came together, no sound was made, but I felt waves of pure cold fear pierce my body, as though cold water was flooding my systems. And I drowned in that fear.

,

My eyes shot open, and I gasped.

That was the thing with the NerveGear. When you fell asleep, your brain took over, giving way to dreams. Then when you woke up, you were back under the influence of NerveGear. All the more frustrating that we were so close to the real world, yet so far.

I brought up my player menu, reading the translucent readout. 6:20 am. No point trying to get back to sleep at this time, I'd have to stock up items for the fight in the evening in a couple of hours. Grumbling, I gave in to my bizarre sleep schedules and got up, equipping my battle gear and clothes, which was mainly a navy-blue cloak, which was excessively fast and boosted my agility stat.

Walking down the inn steps, I saw no one downstairs, except a couple of NPCs, set to be at. Constant 24-hour schedule. Sleep was not a necessity for them. I wasn't sure whether I was envious or pitying for them. Sleep was a comfortable routine when I wasn't having nightmares. What would it be like to not have to sleep? Shaking myself from my thoughts, I walked out the door. The morning air was cool, fresh. It felt different from any morning in the real world. I couldn't help but wonder, was it because of virtual reality? Or was it the lack of pollution? Either way, it wasn't a bad feeling. The nearby item shops were already open, so I went, hoping to restock items. After all, we were in for a large fight today.

_Is this all worth it, for a pair of daggers? _

_Of course it is. I can't get used to the other weapons very well, and my weapons are already weak compared to the level of the monsters we fought recently. _We needed strong equipment for the floors above, and I couldn't afford to weaken now.

It was quiet mornings like these that I couldn't help but try and think of my life before Sword Art Online. Tess, my little sister, would be worried sick, along with my mother, who had to work long hours in order to support us both. My father was dead since I was five years old, so there was nothing to fear there. A car crash or something, it was quite dramatic from what I can remember. I don't remember much of him now, but I think he was kind... Was he?

Half way to the item shop, I stopped in my tracks and thought. Was he a kind father? Yes... yes of course he was, now I remembered... But then I tried to think of my life in general, little routines, the thing I could tell anyone by heart, the subjects I talked about with Silica on our first few days... What was it...? Yes, there it was. I could remember it now, not the clearest memories, but I remembered now.

I began to start walking to the item shop again. Yes, I could definitely remember it all now. I couldn't help but be almost scared. How much effort had it taken to recall the most frequent facts of everyday life? Sure, this VRMMO had taken 7 or 8 months of my life, but I had a life outside of it for fourteen years, I couldn't just forget it all...Could I?

I shook myself, making a mental note to try and remember my life outside of this world, just to make sure I COULD remember. I didn't want to forget all I ever knew.

Was that what Kayaba Akihiko had planned, for us to forget?

,

"Eh... Did something happen?"

Lisbeth's voice shook me out of my daze. "Uh... not much, just didn't sleep well. I'll be fine." I blinked, trying to rid myself of sleep. I could feel most of it ebbing away. Or at least I hoped I could.

"Well, I hope it won't affect you today." Lisbeth seemed genuinely concerned for me. I waved away her concern with a smile. Truth was, I wasn't that confident, but this boss was one you could withdraw from. Teleport crystals were usable, so there seemed to be less and less danger. Regardless, I wasn't taking chances.

"Right, lets make our way there then. It's actually pretty far away, halfway through a dungeon." I said briskly. She nodded, and we partied up, then began the long trek there.

The cave was actually in the middle of the dungeon, which was why I'd chosen to tackle it in the afternoon. It was about 4 pm, and though the sun was still bright, it was already relatively low in the sky. We headed into the dungeon area, a mossy, temple-like area. Mobs spawned quickly here, so we had to make haste, skipping the unnecessary mob fights. Too much, we figured, would wear us out before we even got to the boss. Regardless, the monsters were varied, and Lisbeth was actually a huge help.

A stone golem broke out behind what I recognised as a fake wall. I grunted; a defence based monster... Regardless, I took the lead, as I was the higher-leveled one. The monster recognised me as a threat, and roared an inhuman growl. My knives would be less useful in this battle, but were definitely better than nothing. I attacked it's faceless head, causing it to rear. Pinwheeling it's long arms, it attempted to flail and attack me. Luckily, I managed to dance around it's long deadly arms. Instinctively, I retreated and yelled, "Switch!"

Lisbeth nodded and stepped in with a large, heavy steel mace. She charged up a skill, taking a little longer than my own simple skills, waiting until the golem was close, before jumping and spinning twice in the air, with the grace of a professional dancer, but with considerably more force. Her mace slammed into the golem's face, causing its head to fly towards the wall, cracking it in two.

I could only gape at the single move which struck down the iron golem. "You-... How-... What... Lisbeth... I don't remember you saying that you were a goddess the second you pulled out your mace. What is your strength stat?"

She shrugged, clearly pleased at the compliment. "Oh I don't know, maybe 200-ish, give or take a few points..." She squinted at me. "Have I grown a second head?"

"Erm... no..."

She laughed, a friendly chuckle. "Then why are you staring at me? Blacksmith's have huge strength stats, that's one of our main qualities in the battlefield."

Instead of responding, I jumped past her and slashed the mini-goblin that was about to drop from the ceiling to stab her. "You know what? Let's talk about that when we don't have vicious monsters trying to kill us from every possible angle."

"Good idea." She replied, hurriedly brandishing her mace.

Progress was slow, but eventually, about 40 monsters later, we managed to make our way to a small crevice that looked no different from every other. I took out Argo's map data, checking that this was the place. The tracer matched out positions, and it was flashing red.

"Yep, this is it." We both charged up skills, then smashed the wall to pieces. There was a cavernous chamber, with a huge statue, precious stones embedded in it, making the eyes sparkle dangerously.

"Well." I breathed a sigh of relief. "That leaves us with about... half an hour till the boss battle can start." Opening my inventory, I materialized two bottles of spring mineral water, then handed one to Lisbeth.

"Hey, Tensei-kun, just as long as you're calling me without an honorific..." Lisbeth was going to continue, then spotted my mouth opening in apology. "Don't worry, I don't mind too much. But anyway, just as long as you're being casual with me, you can just call me Liz. Even Asuna calls me Liz."

"Oh... alright. That works with me, I guess." I answered. "You can just call me Ten, if it makes it any easier."

"Ten... Wow, that sounds so... cut off." Lisbeth mused aloud.

"Liz isn't a whole lot better." I retorted, chuckling.

"At least that has two syllables*, yours has one!"

It probably would have gone on, had the area not suddenly lit up in a dim green light. The statue in the middle looked a lot more threatening in the eerie glow. We both stood up quickly, bringing up our weapons. "Well, it's time." I said simply. Lisbeth grunted in response. The statue began to move, catching me almost off guard. I didn't expect the statue to be the boss itself! It grew in size, a low creak resounding around the room as it did so. Giant armour-pads materialized on its shoulders, providing extra protection. A huge name came up in my view, near the bottom. The boss notification read "Mineral Giant."

And the battle began.

It raised its fist and pounded at me. Reacting quickly, I jumped away, then planted my feet firmly on the wall and launched myself back at it. Instead of attacking its fist, I ran up it, running closer and closer to what Argo had told me was its weak spot; the neck.

I ran up its arm, fully expecting the beast to retract its fist and shake me off. Instead, I heard a scream for help. Turning around, I saw Lisbeth pinned down underneath a giant fist.

My blood ran cold as I stopped in my tracks. She couldn't knock off the giant fist, so I jumped high and landed, planting my knives firmly into the joint between the boss fist, wrenching the two rocks apart. The statue roared in pain and finally lifted its fist up. Nimbly hopping off just in time, I took out a mid-heal health crystal and used it on Lisbeth. She got up shakily as her health bar raised from yellow to green.

"You okay?" I asked. She nodded, then noticed the huge problem.

"Your knives! What happened?" She pointed at my weaponless hands. I grimaced and gestured at the Mineral Giant, who pounded at his own wrist, since my knives were stuck in them.

"Sorry to ask this of you, Lisbeth, but could you hold him up for a few seconds? I have to take out my spares." She nodded and charged up her aerial mace skill, Meteor Crush. Just as the giant swung its giant fist a second time, she jumped and raised the mace high in the air, then brought it down, forcing a huge crack in the fist itself.

Focusing back on my menu, I opened the weapons section. _Come on, lets see... Serrated knife, serrated knife, where the hell is it? There!_ As my hand moved to the knives, my eye roved across the many weapon drops I'd picked up, some of which weren't even knives.

_I wonder..._

Lisbeth, meanwhile, was using her insane strength stat to crash blow after wretched blow into the Giant, making his health bar lower to the mid yellow. The giant's ruby eye flashed once, then its long, deadly arm slammed into the pink haired girl, forcing her up into the air. She flew up, bringing up a heal crystal of her own to use. But before she could activate it, the boss eye flashed yet again, and it sent a huge boulder flying at her.

"GAH!"

She shut her eyes, then opened them again when all she felt was something grabbing her waist. Which was of course, me. Landing quickly, I let her down on the ground and smiled. "I have a plan." I smirked. She looked at me as though I was mad.

"What the hell are you planning?!" Looking at the strange assortment of weapons on the floor.

Instead of answering, I picked up a pair of heavy copper maces. I never had much skill in anything except knives, oddly enough, so instead of trying to use the mace, I twirled twice on the ground, gathering speed, then tossed them both straight at the golem.

By the luck of whatever gods remained in the world, the mace smashed into a ruby eye, causing a period of blindness, a deafening roar, and a decrease in health. The boss was almost down to the red zone! I gave a battle-cry of pure adrenaline and gripped my serrated knives. Jumping up to the giant's torso, I activated a combo in mid air. _Initiated Close Crush Combat._

The knives glowed green, a contrast to the orange-tipped knives, and I was suddenly airborne by the force of the huge combo I'd just began. Slashing incessantly, I spun around again and again, landing more slashes than ever before.

"SWITCH!"

Lisbeth jumped in and smashed at the giant's knees. Just as she did so, I picked up a long, steel spear and threw it awkwardly. I fervently hoped the spear would hit, despite my low spear skill. And by the luck of every god out there, it stuck into the monster's neck.

The boss fell and crashed to the ground, then disintegrated. Huge golden letters greeted my sight. "CONGRATULATIONS". Notifications popped up, informing me that we had just received 5 mythril ores each. A last attacking bonus

I walked back to a open-mouthed Lisbeth. I took out a full-health potion and pushed it in her open hand. "You going to stand here all day?"

"But... what... Ten! What was that?!"

I shrugged uneasily. "Well, its not like I had a use for those weapons, so I tossed it... But now I really do need those knives we're getting from the mythril we just obtained, my Falconers just got crushed."

Before we could do anything else happened, a deep voice behind me echoed ominously around the room. "Very good, boy... very impressive."

We both spun round to see a huge man in a dusty skull mask and even dustier cape and armour. He clapped dryly. "Well done, you seemed to have received large portions of mythril. Congratulations. Now hand it over."

My blood froze. How had I not seen this man? So much for my detecting skill... But that wasn't what chilled me the most. What did was the red player indicator above his head.

_Green means clean players, orange means criminal, but worst of all is red... red is the colour of a player killer._

Lisbeth, who didn't seem to have noticed the implications of his red indicator, drew her mace and glared right back at the man. "What makes you think we'll let you take them?" She shot back at the man.

"Ho ho, I see. Well, I didn't expect your girlfriend to stand up for you, boy." Beneath the skull mask, I saw a sadistic grin unfurling. "Well then, let us proceed to the next step." No motion was needed. 4 more players came out of the shadows, all of which had the same scarlet indicators.

_A trap..._

I stepped forward. "Well then... let's see... what would you need the mythril for, PoH?"

A deathly, icy silence followed. The man in front of me cocked his head to the side and asked in a voice as cold as the atmosphere, "How did you know? No... How much do you know?"

I took another step forward. The two player killers closest to him raised their swords threateningly. Ignoring them, I answered. "Well... Let's just say I know quite a lot... PoH, DharkEr, LeedaruK, FelliA... Oh, a new one? Well, yet another to join the PK guild, Laughing Coffin."

PoH hissed angrily. "Well then... It is no longer a case of taking your items. You cannot be allowed to live, you know far too much. Where did you get this information?" He spat at me, seething. If I was any stupider, any more naive than I actually was, I might have said that my information came from a good friend of mine, Argo the rat. Fortunately, I wasn't that stupid.

"I gathered the info not too long ago. Pity. Laughing Coffin would have made a great front-line guild if they weren't so busy trying to **kill** people."

Poh waved his arm. "Enough. That is all I need to know. Your lives end now."

I grimaced. That was the way PKers worked. They generally attacked and came to almost no resistance, since injuring another player meant going orange, or being labeled a criminal. None of them bothered maneuvering around us, what was the point? Fear of turning orange would hold us still for the first hit, and after that, it wouldn't matter who hit what.

_Great... only one thing to do... and I sure as hell hope it's worth it._

I backed up towards Lisbeth, whose eyes were wide with fear of death. "No... not p-p-player k-killers?" She whispered in a voice of pure terror. I whispered back in her ear... her eyes widened even further. "No! I couldn't!" I whispered again.

PoH laughed, loud and hard. "A plan? Don't bother, boy. It's obvious the girl isn't capable of much without her boyfriend." My eyes narrowed, and I nudged her backwards.

With a gulp, she steeled herself and raised a blue crystal. "Teleport-"

PoH lunged forward and pushed past me to get to her. "Too late!"

The butcher's knife that was PoH's weapon flew through the air, glittering at a dangerous speed. It was going to hit her straight in the head, and it would be over...

There was a wet, fleshy sound as the knife made contact. PoH was laughing. "Futile attempt, girl! It's over! No one can-"

"TAFT!"

A blue light enveloped her and Lisbeth disappeared.

PoH's eyes widened as. "What? Impossible! NO!"

I glared directly through the mask, into the man's disbelieving eyes, which broke eye contact and looked at the end of his knife, half-embedded in my left arm. My serrated knife flew even faster than his own weapon and struck his face, blinding him.

He screeched in pain and recoiled, leaving his knife stuck in my arm. It dropped to the floor, useless, before I kicked it so hard, it flew and embedded itself in the wall.

"A few weeks ago, I failed to save a player, right before my eyes." I said, in a toneless voice, devoid of all emotion. "I could have saved her, but I didn't."  
"Kill him!" PoH howled, ignoring my anecdote. The four other players moved in. I looked up at the surrounding men darkly.

"After that, I decreed never to let another player die before my eyes again. No one can help that, people will die... But I'm not going to let it happen."

To them, it must have seemed like I disappeared. They blinked, confused. Then one man found two steel, serrated knives embedded in his back. He panicked, trying to buck me off like a horse, to no avail. In the corner of my vision, I saw an orange exclamation mark appear over my health bar, marking me a criminal.

Using the man as a jump pad, I launched myself off his back and took my knives with me, causing a minimal-but-lasting Damage over time effect, or a DOT effect, bleeding.

One take out a spear and tosses it upwards. Unlike the spear I threw at the boss, this one remained perfectly straight, whipping at me. Only one way to dodge it, and it was very, very risky.

As the spear came within reach, I grabbed out for it. I did indeed manage to grab hold of it, but not before it sliced my already- injured left hand, and caused a bleed effect.

Ignoring the threat of death, I stabbed the wall with it, causing it to stick. I desperately grabbed on to it and hung there with four angry Player Killers, attacking me heels like a bunch of bloodhounds.

I stuck my serrated knives into the wall and climbed, like I did with Asuna a month ago. PoH's eyes widened, then narrowed.

"Very well played, boy. Very well played." He retrieved his knife from the wall. "Just remember, you're now not only a criminal, but one forever marked by the Laughing Coffin. We won't hunt you, but if our paths cross again, we won't let up on you." His malevolent grin returned. "And the Coffin always has the last laugh."

Ignoring his threat, I roared. "Teleport: Taft!"

And a blue light enveloped me.

,

A town materialised before my eyes, and I stared. The familiar town of Taft never held more relief for me. My bleed effect stopped, landing me Just above red health... 26% health.

I shut my eyes and sat, resting on the cobblestone pavement. _Never... Never again... I can't possibly..._

When I opened my eyes, I caught a flash of pink around me, and a relieved voice, "TEN!"

Lisbeth was right in front of me, way to close for comfort. She was kneeling and looking at me, hands clapped over her mouth in worry.

"Are you alright? You made it out?"

"No, I'm a ghost, Liz. Clearly a ghost."

All tension deflated from the scene as she slapped me over the head. "Idiot! I was worried for you!" She snapped. Then, slowly, a smile worked up on her face. "Thanks for helping me out back there, Ten... It means a lot to me."

"No problems... Lets just... Not wall into player killers again... Right...?" I breathed in and out, heart still beating furiously at the pandemonium I escaped from.

"As if we wanted to!" She fumed. Then she calmed down again, her face suddenly flushing a little. "Ah.. Ten, back there with the Player Killers, one kept saying that I was your girlfriend... Why didn't you deny it?"

I stared at her, dumbfounded. What kind of person would react and deny that they were in a relationship, when both of them were in danger of bring cleaved in two by a group of murderers?! "Um, I don't know, maybe the fact that I was more interested in LIVING than denying rumours?" I raised an eyebrow.

Lisbeth's flush died down, she trailed off with an "Oh, right..."

My palm slapped my face.

**T/N: Well, that was an odd chapter to write xD. I'm going camping tomorrow, and won't be back till Sunday, so I won't be able to use the Internet to write up another chapter. Again, I'll try for another chapter next week, but no promises.**

***In Japanese, Liz is pronounced 'Ri-zu', therefore having two syllables. 'Ten' has one.**

**Reviews it is! **

**RyuugaAsao - Well, there's a mini arc completed. It will wrap up next time, then launch into a quiet filler event, then I think it's time to start timeskipping. You realise that technically, I'm in around the time that episode 3 happened in the SAO anime? Yeah, time skipping required.**

**ObsidianAquamarine - Oh hey Obby :3 Nice to see you around, glad you enjoyed! I reviewed your story to the best of my ability. You know me, I take stories seriously, so it may look over critical, but its all for your improvement.**

**Forscythe - Well, you wanted action, here you go! I hope it's enough! Still deciding if I should put her in again at one point. Argo is not going to disappear, I may include her later on, but for now, I'm glad you like how I made her.**

**Thanks for sticking all the way guys! I you enjoy my stuff, I encourage you to look at the following stories: Counter Guardian and Just One Last Time. Both are amazing, even if Counter Guardian is a little thought-provoking.**

**Tensei out!**


	10. Chapter 10: Orange Fortune

_**Chapter 10: Orange fortune**_

_Ping! Ping! Ping!_

The ring of metal against metal rang loud and clear throughout the whole of Lisbeth's Smith shop. It was loud, but not unbearably so. Lisbeth's light pink eyes were narrowed with concentration of the task of forging the knives, using two ingots of mythril as smithing ingredients to create the knives. Eventually, they formed from shapeless ingots to a pair of distinctly shiny knives.

"Well, here you go... They're the best I could make!" Lisbeth handed me a pair of slightly longer knives, fully constructed and very shiny. They were a little bit lighter than my previous Falconer knives, but shined with a gleaming tinge when held in any kind of light, making them look almost, but not quite, glow-in-the-dark.

"Wow... These look great!" I exclaimed. Tapping the weapon with a finger, I manipulated the holographic interface that appeared, to show the weapon name and stats.

The Secret Edges  
Stat requirements: STR 40, AGI 50  
Speed-based, high class duelling knives. Will adapt to surroundings and will increase further in power when the player is below the 30% health margin.

"Wow, you really outdid yourself, Liz!" I beamed up at her. "These are just what I need... I didn't think the strength boost to be so high!"

"Thanks." She giggled. It really showed, not to judge a book by it's cover. No one would expect this petite girl in pink to be a blacksmith with an insanely high strength stat, like she did.

"Well, you have mine as well." I opened out my inventory and opened up a trade window to Lisbeth. "How much will they cost?"

She shook her head lightly. "Ten, you saved my life from a Player Killing guild... I hardly need payment after that!"

I added thousand cor to the trade window. "Your life wouldn't have needed saving if I didn't make you come with me to the boss." I would have normally loved free stuff, but I honoured deals, and I wasn't going to leave without some kind of compromise.

Lisbeth rolled her eyes. "Geez, I try to be nice and you shove it straight back. I would have thought you'd be happy to leave me with half the mythril."

My head perked up a little. "Oh, that's right... you have about 5 left with you right?" She nodded, but then gaped at the trade window, which showed my 3 remaining mythril ores.

"No! I couldn't take this! I really couldn't!" She flailed frantically, as though it would change my mind.

"Look, take it, or it'll go in the trash. I really don't need these ores clogging my inventory, and frankly, I'm pretty sure Asuna and the rest of the front-liners need the upgrade material."

A weak smile worked its way up to her face. "Well, when you put it that way..."

Her finger moved to the 'accept' button and clicked it, finalizing the deal. I shook her hand and grinned. "Thanks for the knives, and I look forward to coming back."

"Just as long as coming back doesn't mean bringing me to a PK guild ambush." Her eyes glinted. I only chuckled and left the shop.

Evening was fast settling on me. Heck, it was already 6 in the evening! I walked across the street to a crowded restaurant. I was starving from the day's activity, and I was already thinking of the meal I could buy. I almost never had anything to spend cor on, food aside, so I was pretty loaded. _Why not treat myself to something a little more expensive, every once in a while? _I smiled to no one in particular and strolled through the polished wooden doorwa-

BAM!

I found myself flying backwards from the doorway, and I landed almost face-first into the cobblestone streets. The safe area stopped any of my health going down, but I felt a dulled pain in my face and chest area.

_What the hell?_

I got up, dusting myself, only to find just about every player, inside and outside the restaurant, staring at me. Their eyes were wide, as though they had never seen that happen before. Couldn't say that I blamed them for it, I certainly hadn't. I could only stare at the red notification that hung, motionless, in front of the restaurant doorway.

PLAYER REJECTED. REASON: PLAYER STATUS

I didn't even understand what happened. Most of the players in the crowd continued to stare, but in a mix of fear and disbelief. I couldn't help myself, but ask.

"Er... Does anyone know why I got rejected?" I asked to no one in particular. No one answered, merely just stared with the same looks of disbelieving terror. Then, a man, maybe just nearing the end of his teenage years, not much older than me, stepped into the clearing and unsheathed his sword. What the hell was going on?

He pointed his sword at me. "Stay away from us... Criminal."

The shock of those words carried down to my spine and caused a deep chill that made me break into a cold sweat. That was right... I was rejected because of my 'orange' status... Many restaurants, shops and inns rejected orange players, for the obvious reasons.

I didn't even bother explaining the misunderstanding. Who would listen? Instead, I turned heel and walked away from a crowd of people, some of which were well respected members of the community, none of which knew me, all of which _feared me._

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Food.

At the end of the day, I really did wonder, if all this food is digitised, how did Kayaba Akihiko program the exact flavours and textures into the food we were served? Even quality of the food was not defined merely by ranks. Here I was, slurping C class ramen in a little shack on the North outskirts of town, yet really, I found it more than edible, in fact, it was pretty damn good!

Hot Shio ramen tasted of the sea, a natural-tasting bowl of pure happiness. I could respect people who liked Shoyu ramen more, I didn't mind people having their own preferences, but the ones I really didn't understand were the ones who legitimately did not like Shio ramen. What was not to like about nature in a bowl?

I sat back, sighing happily. The noodles had all been finished, and the vegetables... I stared at the broth in the bowl.

_Nope, I can't help it._

I grabbed the bowl and drained all the remaining soup, relishing the heavenly flavour. _What can I say, even in the real world, I hated wasting food, hardly like I'm gonna stop now._

"PWAHH..." I gasped. The NPC man behind the counter smiled.

"You look like you needed that one, son." He grinned. I couldn't help but return the gesture.

"Thanks for it, pops. It's great stuff!" I grinned. That was the thing with some NPCs. They had a virtual AI to respond to most stimuli, so it was almost like talking to a player. Not all of them were like that though, some were mindless, quest-giving zombies. There was a variation of sorts. The only thing was that you had to act like this was real life with AIs.

"Ah, don't worry about it boy. Ramen's in my blood, I'm just glad you can appreciate it." He opened a pot and gave it a quick stir, causing steam to rise up. Before the steam could burn him, he withdrew his hand and shut the lid. I had to give the game credit, for a cooking system that was oversimplified, they sure knew how to LOOK like they were really cooking.

"Well, hope you enjoyed it!" And he retreated further back into the kitchen.

I was plenty glad that this shop didn't care about Player status. It would certainly mean coming here for a while, until my orange status was revoked in two weeks. I left the shop, feeling distinctly happier than when I entered.

_Alright... well, it looks like I'm going to have to take a break from the front lines._ _I doubt an orange player would be allowed up there. Yep... _

If there was a desk in front of me, I probably would have face-planted. _It's official. For the first time in the history of my life in Sword Art Online... I'm bored._

"Hey, boy, come over here, have a seat"

A voice came from an outdoor table, coming from an elderly-looking woman at the head of the table. For an elderly woman, though, she had a strong voice. There were about 3 other girls there, about my age, which surprised me, since female players were the rarer of the SAO community. She beckoned me closer.

As I came and sat down, the three girls looked at me with looks of mixed curiosity and uncertainty, probably because of my orange player indicator. The elder woman, however, took no notice, and set down a deck of tarot cards.

"You seem troubled, boy. Would you like me to read your fortune? We live in dangerous times, after all." The old woman smiled kindly. Fortune telling? I never believed in preordained fate.

"Well, if you could prove to me that you're the real thing, then sure." I shrugged. The girl next to me shot me a glare that screamed 'how dare you doubt her!'

The old woman, much to my surprise, merely smiled. "Of course. Many doubt me before they see me in action." I raised an eyebrow. This woman sure was confident. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Satome, fortune teller and fisherwoman."

Ah. One of many people not at the front lines. I couldn't blame her. Before anything else happened, she drew a card from the deck. "Well, newcomer..."

"My name is Tensei."

"Ah, of course. Tensei, since you have just joined us, let's use this card to represent you." She drew a card that was labelled 'The Fool'. The girls around me giggled like mad. Satome, however, tutted reprovingly. "Now, now, girls. The Fool is known as the newcomer, as he is filled with immense potential for... well, let's just say he's a blank card, to be filled with whatever comes next."

She proceeded to lift the remaining cards and dropped them on the floor. Had she lost her mind? What was that for? But she merely lifted the cards, neatening them up again. "3 cards fall out of the pack...one of which is flipped right-side up. This means... you have 3 people in this world you trust fully, one of which you believe to be your superior."

My head cocked to the side automatically. I wasn't exactly sure about the other two, but it was true that I did see one person in particular as a mentor of sorts. Not that I'd seen much of him lately.

The elder woman took out four cards, one of which was the Fool, placed upright. She layed these out in a diamond shape, The Fool card being put at the bottom.

Slowly, she revealed the card at the top and looked at it closely.

"The Hierophant..." She whispered. "Your mentor. Strong-headed, yet kind. He or she does well in his task... I can assume he or she is part of the front lines, but is... alone. He has once participated in a group, party or guild, but has regretted his decision to join them ever since. He now prefers to keep alone."

I could only gaze at her in amazement, while the girls around me cheered for her. That was... accurate, to say the least. But the part about regretting joining a guild... was new information. It wasn't enough to say that this woman really knew what she was talking about. Before I could fully process how she could come up with that, she flipped the card on the right side of the diamond. Again, she studied it and announced. "The high-priest, one that clings onto femininity, one who holds herself in relatively high esteem, yet feels she can depend on you... Do you know anyone of the sort?" She shot at me. My mouth literally hung open as I nodded. Only Silica. And it seemed to match the description perfectly. "Watch her. She will need your guidance in future, I guarantee it."

The divination continued as she flipped the card on the right. By pure accident or by planned mistake, I couldn't tell, but as she lifted the card, it slipped from her fingers and dropped flat open on the table.

"Ah... Do excuse my clumsiness, but it is all part of the process." The woman continued smoothly. Call me paranoid, but I didn't buy that at all.

"Erm... Miss Satome, how the heck can dropping a card be part of a process? Wasn't it an accident?" I asked politely, managing just to keep the accusatory tone out of my voice.

"Ah, yes, it was an accident." She patiently explained. "But what you must understand is that when we divine someone's fortune, we believe that everything happens for a reason." Satome picked up the card and announced. "Well, 'The Sun'... Normally represents a windfall of kindness and goodwill... However, I can assume from the dropped card that there is a negative connotation..." She thought about it deeply, as I stared. Who could this woman be talking about...?

Satome opened here eyes and looked directly into mine. "This friend... He or she is currently dead set on an important goal. So much so that he or she has lost sight of his or her own life... This person is strong willed, and normally a joyful person, but in attempting to achieve this goal, has lost much merriment."

A shiver ran down my spine as I realized who the avid description applies to; Asuna. Dead set on... She was set on completing the game, working with the top guild, the best of the best, as hard as she could. I could only think how little she had forgotten to take time off of what she considered her duty.

"And now, will you let me ascertain your own fortune?" Satome asked politely. I nodded.

"You've convinced me, Miss Satome, you're the real deal."

"Thank you. It means a great deal to me." She gave a little bow. "Back to business, let me divine your general fortune for now."

The woman replaced the deck on the table. "This is simple. I will reshuffle the deck and draw cards until we come to you, 'The Fool'. The cards drawn will represent the general fortune of the future."

I gripped my knees below the table as Satome began the process. My luck hadn't been phenomenal of late. Would my luck turn for the better, or shatter even further?

Judgement

The Chariot

The Wheel of Fortune

My grip loosened slightly. Judgement didn't sound too good, but the wheel of fortune could be. The elder woman continued drawing cards from the deck.

Temperance

The Lovers

The Fool

The girls around me giggled a little at 'The Lovers'. Satome sat there, studying the cards, deep in thought. Eventually, she lifted her head. "You have much in your future, Tensei-san... Trials will come upon you, and you may be shunned by the community, very possible because of your orange status. No, I don't plan to ask how you got it," She ignored my flinch of hesitation, "but it will bring trials, and... that combined with the chariot shows that you will have to work harder than ever before to avoid being crushed beneath the weight of your judgement."

"Great... Just what I needed." I groaned. "More bad luck."

"Now, now, I'm not quite finished, it isn't all bad." Her eyes twinkled. "There also follows the 'Wheel of Fortune', a card that allows us all to remember that all things will pass. So be sure that your trials will come to an end soon after. What's more, your next two cards are an interesting combination."

The girl next to me giggled some more and nudged me in the ribs. I tried to ignore her, but my face must have looked highly discomfited, because Satome smiled. "Not used to attention, eh? Well, I'll make it brief then. Temperance is a card that represents relationships of all kinds, both friendships, comrades and romances. Combined with the lovers... Well, it's safe to say that you may find that a great deal of people are attracted to you, both in friendship and in love. Since these cards came last, I think these events will come within the next year, this is something that will come with time. I will say... watch who you talk to and how, it may impact them harder than you think." She finished with a wink.

I stood up. "I'm sorry, but I don't see romance coming in a false world." I grunted, uncharacteristically miffed. Before anyone else could say anything, I left.

I didn't know why, but I couldn't bring myself to look back. I wasn't sad, or concerned, even. When I found the emotion in me, I was surprised to find that I was angry.

_These people find way too much merriment in a false world that we're all working to get out of. They act as though this is their reality, so they may as well enjoy themselves. As realistic as the world of Aincrad is... none of this is real._

I stopped running and kicked a wall in frustration.

_None of this is real. None of us are real. The only thing real about this place is the danger of death. Love doesn't come into it._

_And that's that._

**T/N: Wow, it's been a while. Chapters will probably be coming slower now that I'm actually trying to make plot up. I'm not sure whether you realize, but this is all "On-the-go" writing. I have next to zero plotline in my head, so the next chapter will probably involve me trying to think of trials of some sort.**

**Well, to clear up a couple of things, look below. Some people may be confused with the rule-bending that's happened here, so let me clear up how criminal statii work in my eyes.**

**1st crime - 2 weeks orange status**

**2nd crime - 4 weeks orange status**

**3rd crime - Permanent orange status**

**Orange characters are shunned by the community and banned from any amenity at the ****Centre of a town****.**

**Red players are given no chances. A player is permanently red once he or she has committed a kill, and is not allowed in safe-areas, making their situation excessively dangerous at all times. They can, however, pay money to NPCs in out-of-town areas to rent for a night, where they are safe. But only at night.**

**And of course, I changed the paragraphing. When the scenes switch, I will no longer be using commas to separate paragraphs. I'll be using this. **

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

**Because it's badass. End of story.**

**Oh, and if you look at my profile, it tells you where you can contact me. I do book covers, so ping me if you need one!**

**I am sad. No reviews. Please review! I really need the boost and feedback!**

**Tensei out!**


	11. Chapter 11: Judgement

_**SAO Chapter 11 - Judgement**_

_JESUS CHRIST, WHAT THE FLIPPING FISH PASTE JUST HAPPEN- _

BAM.

The colossal force attacked the back of my head, forcing me face-first into the pavement. I could only thank my lucky stars I was in a safe-town. That really would have shaved off some health if I was outside.

A firm hand grabbed my front fringe of hair and dragged it backwards, forcing me to look up. Whoever my attacker was, he or she was on my back, in order to disable my movement. Two fingers were pushed none-too-gently between my eyes, and a deadly whisper came to my ears.

"Who the hell are you, and why do you look so much like my friend? Answer straight or I'll drag you out of town and kill you."

The chilling words hadn't nearly the same effect as the voice that said them. "Argo?!" I gasped. "What are you doing, It's me, Tensei!"

"Yeah right! 'Tensei' would never commit a crime!" She snorted. "Now talk!"

"If you'll give me two seconds out of a death-grip, maybe I can tell you why I'm like this, you flipping idiot!" I yelled, mind racing on how I could prove I was real. "Jesus, why did I even bother buying you Ramu soda back in seventh grade if I knew you were going to kill me 3 years later?!"

Argo gasped, and let go of my hair. "Ka-bou, it really is you! I can't believe it!"

"Believe it woman." I grunted, clearly miffed. I still couldn't get up, since she had yet to get off my back.

She sat for a moment, still a little breathless, then realized why I didn't get up. "Oh, damn. Sorry, am I heavy?" She got off quickly.

An odd silence fell between us. About 10 seconds maybe. Then she snapped. "Well?"

"Well what?" I asked innocently.

"Don't give me that crap, Ka-bou. What happened? Why do you have an orange cursor?"

"Meh, it's really nothing huge. I got cornered by PKers and helped someone escape them, but I had to hurt them to get away."

"WHAT?!" Argo practically bounced up to her feet in surprise. "You were ambushed by PKers?!"

"Oh... Yeah, I ran into the Laughing Coffin guild you were talking about." I mumbled. Gah, I hated it when I made people worry about me, especially friends.

Argo paled. "So the rumors are true... They've formed a guild. And... You ran into them?" Her questions were coming more faintly now.

"Ah yeah, but I managed to get away..."

That's when I felt the force of her entire body slamming into me. I lay, winded on the ground, as she hugged me round the middle.

"Good god, Argo, you're strong." I huffed. She ignored me and kept hugging me.

"Don't... Be careful from now on, I don't want to worry about you again." Her voice came out small.

"Yeah, it's not like I planned it, I'm no fonder of the PKers than you are. But yeah, I'll watch out for them." She didn't pull away. "Oi, Yu-chan... You can't be Argo the info broker if you're so emotional, get up." I pried her off of me gently. She was a lot more emotional than I though, clearly. Her real life name seemed to act as a stimulus of some sort. She finally let go, her face coming back to its usual, neutral self.

"Well, just as long as you can't be on the front lines, wanna party up with me?" She offered.

"I don't see why not." I shrugged. On the inside, I found myself quite happy with the idea. It would keep me from boredom and wouldn't be counter-productive of my time. "I can help you, if you need any manpower to grab your info... or rare items, since you seem to have some kind of obsession with-"

"I don't find rare items...!" Argo coughed. "Rare items seem to find me!"

I rolled my eyes. "Inanimate objects finding you. Sure, I buy that."

"You know, I preferred it when you just agreed with everything I said." She snapped back, pretending to be mad.

"PRESENT YOURSELVES!"

The loud voice rang in our ears, echoing down the alleyway. Argo peeked outwards, then gasped and grabbed my hand, leading me away from the voice.

"Argo, what the hell happened? Why are we running?"

"Idiot!" She hissed. "That's a Knights of Blood Oath patrol!"

"So?" I asked, nonplussed. They may not have been the best guild for me, but there wasn't a reason to avoid them, was there?

"In case you didn't know, the KOB actually arrests, and takes into custody, orange players!" I gasped at how close I was to being captured, but Argo put a finger to my lips. "Shh! They'll hear you..." She whispered. We ducked behind a conveniently placed crate and waited.

Over the past few weeks, I'd been leveling my detection skill quite a bit, leading it to be about 270 points. Once I'd gotten past 250 though, a player track skill had been added. Provided that I had a visual contact on any player or monster for two seconds, I could track their position through walls for about 10 seconds. I activated this skill and peeked around the corner, waving away a protesting Argo.

A large, red-headed man in huge armour had stood in the center of the main road. I maintained visual contact, then ducked behind the crate again, tracking him. Argo looked at me, confused, but I had no time to explain the skill to her. Someone was coming this way! Not the redhead, a leaner, shorter person, but definitely KOB.

I tapped Argo's shoulder and whispered. "Go. I'll escape alone, someone's coming." She looked at me fearfully and was about to bring up her stubborn streak when I jumped out from behind the crate, onto the unknowing patrol member.

The man yelled in surprise as my feet landed on his shoulder, and I used him as a jump pad, just like with the Laughing Coffin. Cursing at his outburst, a jumped up from one wall to another, climbing up the buildings. At the top, I almost slipped, dropping a loose tile onto the alley below.

"There! On the roof! He's orange!"

_Great_.

I ran like hell. Detainment at the hands of the KOB was the last thing I needed right now. ESPECIALLY now, I swore I would use this time away from the front lines wisely, so that when I came back to it, I would still be perfectly capable of competing with the others and being of use.

"He's running on the roof! Get him!" The redhead roared.

"Roger!" A strict female voice that seemed... strangely familiar. I looked behind as I ran and saw a very fierce, chestnut-haired woman rushing at me and somehow managing to keep up. I paled and ran harder, hitching my cloak.

_The Flash. They call her that for a reason too._

I wasn't scared of Asuna, but she'd probably want explanation, which the KOB would detain me for, and...

I yelped as a thin rapier blade jabbed over my shoulder, forcing me to realize how close she was. Out of pure instinct, I jammed my foot into the roof tiles, ducked, and ran at her legs. Her eyes opened in surprise as I barreled into her, causing her to fall off the roof. She didn't lose health, but landed heavily on the cobblestone street.

_Sorry..._

I retracted my apology, however, when she got up, eyes flashing dangerously, and hopped up onto the balcony, then prepared to jump onto the roof again.

_Okay, let's go, nothing to see here. _I ran quickly across the rooftops, skidding a little on the uneven surfaces. It wasn't too long until eventually, Asuna must have decided I was a target to be taken by force, rather than by warnings. She leapt forward and hit me squarely in the back with a rapier hilt, causing me to fall face-first into the tiles. For the second time that day, my head was pulled up by my hair, and this time, I felt cold steel pointed at the back of my neck. "You're under arrest by the Knights of Blood Oath, orange!"

I sighed. "I have a name, Asuna-san." Her eyes widened with recognition of the voice. "Next time, could you cut me some slack? I have a reason, you know."

"Wait... no..." She shook her head."I can't believe it... Tensei?" Slowly, her rapier drew back

"Believe it woman." I chuckled at how similar her and Argo's reactions were. Before another word was spoken, I froze at the one-handed blade that appeared at my neck, and saw the redhead bend down low. "You're under arrest, orange. Follow quietly and we might make your detainment short... depending on what you did, you bastard." He spat the last words out,

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

"To whoever is listening to this, this guy is a fu-"

"Will you be serious!"

I grinned. I might have been in a chair with guards surrounding me, plus a recording crystal strapped to my chest, but hey, just as long as I was stuck here, I had no intention of respecting this man, who seemed to run solely off his high position in the guild.

"Listen to me!" The redhead grunted, frustration pouring out of his every orifice. "Orange, you are being charged for your crimes, and you are to tell us what those crimes are without attempting to justify your actions, so we may consider how long your detainment should be!"

The stone walls of the interrogation room rang with the echo of his voice. The truth was, irritation had been building in me, and I couldn't believe how this man claimed to serve justice when his way of judging orange players was so unfair. I didn't flinch, but dropped the grin and cavalier attitude, replacing it with a cold glare.

"So let me get this straight, you're here, trying to get me to admit what terrible crime I've committed, without thinking twice that maybe I had a very good reason for doing it?" I snapped at him.

"What good reason could you have for hurting someone? You're all as bad as each other! This is why we scan the community to rid you of pests!" He growled. I felt a twinge of real rage now. Would this man rather I was dead? Or led Lisbeth to her own death?

"Well then, let me tell you exactly what happened." I hissed, standing up and kicking the wooden chair aside. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I swore, I saw a tiny amount of rage leak out of his face, replaced with wariness."I was ambushed. In a dungeon, while gathering materials with a player blacksmith, I was attacked by a group of PKers, and I got this mark protecting the blacksmith long enough for her to escape! If you're so worried about keeping the green players safe, track down those bastards, not me!" In a fury, I grabbed the rope around my neck and snapped it, then tossed the recording crystal at him. "Some justice you serve." I spat at the ground, revealing more about my opinion of his justice than words ever could.

"Don't get flippant with me, boy, I control your fate!" He was at the point of drawing a sword when a sharp female voice rang from behind me.

"Enough, Dokira."

I turned to see Asuna, looking sternly at the redheaded man named Dokira. He slowly moved his hand from the sword. "I'm sorry, Vice Commander. I lost myself, it seems." His head bowed as he spoke. I clearly underestimated my friend's presence around the guild, because it seemed to quite effectively shut this man and his temper up. Asuna walked over to the recording crystal and picked it up.

"Well, Tensei?" She replaced the crystal on the table and held a light frown. "What happened? I wouldn't think you would be the type of person to turn orange for no good reason, so why don't you tell me all about it?"

So I told the story, keeping it to a minimum length, but detailed enough to make it believable. As I reached the part of the PK guild, Asuna's frown tightened a little. When I finished, There was silence in the room for about 5 seconds.

"This... is a little disturbing." Asuna admitted. "A PK guild? That's a dangerous thought. PKers alone were held and suppressed, but it took quite a bit of effort for each and every one..."

The man named Dokira grunted, reminding me of unwanted presence in the corner of the room. "There's no proof backing the orange's story. How do we know he is telling the truth?"

I grimaced. "Witnesses include Argo the Rat for information on the PK guild, Laughing Coffin... I guess you could contact Lisbeth, her shop is a floor down." I pretended not to be angry at the biased man in the corner, who snorted doubtfully.

"Dokira, enough." Asuna shot at him. He fell silent again. Turning to me, Asuna tapped the recording crystal, which turned purple, indicating a finished recording. "Well, we'll see what we can do. I'll do all I can to get you out of here quickly." She got up at sent a glance of understanding my way, which I returned with a look of thanks.

Dokira followed her, then paused at the doorway. "I'm... sorry." He admitted. I stared at him in amazement. "I admit my bias to those of the orange cursor. I lost my comrade to one, see, and I've never forgiven the oranges since." Without giving me a chance to respond, he left.

The beginnings of guilt clawed away at my insides as I realized how rude I'd been to a man who had probably been through a lot. Many men like him had gone through a rough stage when they realized how close this deathtrap of a game brought them to the Grim Reaper.

Waiting.

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_**June 24th, 2023, Player Tensei has been released on grounds that his Orange status has ended. **_

_**Frontlines are currently clearing Floor 46.**_

**T/N: Well, That wraps that up. I understand this is a very slow development for you guys, but I'm in the midst of my academic exams here, It's not like I can do much. This chapter is a little slower, I understand.**

**Strange, every time I sit and brainstorm, I come up with some BRILLIANT ideas that can only be used three or four chapters later... So I have to think of something to fill the gap of those three or four chapters, which often leads to not-so-quick development and seemingly strange plot. I promise you all it WILL get better! Stay with me!**

**Review corner (Only one, I sad face D:)**

**ObsidianAquamarine - Thanks again for sticking with the story, Diane :) You'll be glad to know, I picked up my Harvest Moon fanfiction again, and you can expect an update within... well, no promises, but hopefully within the next couple of weeks.**

**And that will be all! Please keep reviewing, I almost find it hard to continue somedays, reviews REALLY help me! **

**Tensei out!**


	12. Chapter 12: Proof

_**Chapter 12 - Proof**_

A large scimitar missed my throat by inches, which would have made it a critical hit. Possibly bringing my health to the yellow. Thank god, it didn't come to that.

I darted away from the Lizardman, guarding warily with both knives. 7 feet tall, a multitude of golden-green scales layering it's skin, except for its seemingly smoother belly, the lizard man was a common 45th Floor mob, but it was by no means weak, nor easy, to kill. It wielded a large steel scimitar, but no shield.

As it charged, I slid past it's blade and activated Close Crush Combat, slashing relentlessly and reducing its health to yellow. It hissed angrily and spun quickly, it's blade whizzing dangerously. The blade struck my shoulder, causing me to wince and lose 12% of my health.

"YOU BASTARD!"

I darted straight to its stomach, underneath its weapon, and activated two skills, one after the other.

- Double Circular -

- Multi stab -

The monster's health shot down under the influence of my largely circular fighting style. It exploded blue and shattered, leaving an end-of-battle message.

Congratulations!

Exp gained (300)

Level up: 57

Obtained cor (190)

Obtained item Lizardman's hide

I breathed out, feeling the rush of a level up, and the adrenaline of battle, leave my veins. The days of intensive grinding had finally paid off, and I just reached the level of most of the front-liners, officially qualifying me as possible use during the 46th floor boss fight that was to take place in two days.

I wiped my brow and sheathed both blades. My eye caught sight of my health bar, which was in the green, now labeled 88%. I found the option a few days ago in the setting menu to change my health readout to percentage instead of actual hit points, for efficiency sake.

_Damn, I thought I could make it without a hit on my health._ I grimaced. For obvious reasons, I got a little bit worried even at the smallest health drops, and tended to fight carefully under normal circumstances. While I was power-grinding, though, I tended to lose track of that as well. My health would drop more frequently, but I would just as frequently get more and more on the experience bar.

_Well, lets get to the top floor. I wouldn't want Klein to think I'm slacking off._ I grinned. it would probably be cool to accidentally bump into him, but the floor above was probably a huge place. No real guarantee I would.

Two days ago, my orange status faded, and the Knights of Blood Oath released me, on grounds that the final proof had arrived: the two week orange status faded exactly as I said it would, along with Lisbeth convincing them of the truth. Two days later, I still felt amazing to be free and unencumbered, free from orange player status, and free from actual imprisonment.

I headed back to town, feeling the gentle breeze brush the rough savannah-like terrain that was the 45th floor, towards the safe-town and towards the floor-gate, leading to floor 46, and leaving the safety of the central 45th floor town; Maogen. I thought back to the elderly old fortune-telling woman's words as I passed the gateway's bright white light.

"...you will have to work harder than ever before to avoid being crushed beneath the weight of your judgement..."

She must have been exaggerating. The detainment was hardly much of a trial...

Little did I know that my judgement was yet to pass, and the wheel of fortune had yet to spin my way.

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

SAO Chapter 12 - Proof

"Oi, Tensei! Been a while!"

I turned around from the forest-like scenery from the top of the hill, only to see a red samurai who stuck out like a sore thumb due to the contrast in his armour colour and the surrounding greenery. Only one man would call out like that.

"Klein! Glad to see you haven't died yet! Where's the rest of our guild, abandoned you already?" I called back to him. He only grinned at me in the face of insults. It seemed to be something most girls didn't understand quite as well, but the closer friends you were to someone, the more you could insult him familiarly. All in the fun, of course.

"Heh! I see you haven't gotten any warmer. Nah, they split for the day to get supplies!" He glanced curiously at my green player cursor, a familiar gesture from the days of my orange. "Heard a rumour that you went orange! Good to see it's all bullshit." Klein laughed aloud, but left it hanging when he saw a grimace appear on my face. He pretended not to notice and glanced around, suddenly very interested by the scenery.

"Actually, the rumours were true, in a way, but n-"

"WHAT?!" He roared in surprise, wheeling to face me. He spotted me covering my ears, wincing. "Oh... Sorry."

"Klein, I know you're bigger than me, but even for your size, you are LOUD." I chuckled and let my hands fall to my sides. "C'mon, lets walk to town and I'll tell you about it on the way.

And so I did. We avoided the more heavily monster-infested fields and headed back to the town of Syren. I filled him in on the bare bones of what had happened, about wanting new daggers, finding Lizbeth, then Argo, then about the dungeon and a little about the boss. Klein seemed a little discomfited when I came to the part about Laughing Coffin.

"I heard rumours of a PK guild... I didn't like to think they were true, but damn! That's dangerous! How'd you get out?" He seemed genuinely hooked onto my story.

So I told him about Lisbeth and how I had to protect her from the group, then the teleport. I conveniently left out the part about my knife-climbing skill. Something to be kept private, or every info broker would be after me for the idea.

"And you got out, just like that?" Klein looked a little shaken at my run in with the PKers. I nodded. Again, that feeling of mixed guilt and discomfort when I made friends worry about me.

"C'mon, Klein." I stopped him before he could elaborate how scary that must have been. "Enough of the past, how's things at the front lines? I've been away from it a while, how's progress? Have we got any info on the boss? I want to get right back into the boss fights, I missed the last couple." I was eager to know about the situation, to be of use.

"Ah... about that. If you're coming with us into the boss fight... you may have some problems..." Klein suddenly looked a little uncomfortable, partly even pitying. We'd reached the town center and had stopped in the middle of it.

"What do you mean?" I frowned.

"Well, remember I said there were rumours about you being orange?" He didn't wait for a response before he continued. "That's exactly the problem. Rumours. People don't know how you got orange, they... don't really know anything about it, and people have said all kinds of things about you, after all, you had quite a reputation back when you merced for us, remember? Ever since then, you've been pretty high on the popularity list. Not up there with Kirito and Asuna, but still pretty high."

"And that's why," he continued grimly, "when people heard that you went orange, rumours went crazy. I've literally heard a rumour that said you found a loophole in the SAO crime system, so that when you kill someone, it only leads to a 2 week orange status."

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed. "Are you serious? There are people that think I killed someone? I'm 15, how the hell... Why?" I burst out, frustrated and shocked beyond belief.

"I dunno, man, but that's how it's been." He replied, still grimacing.

The information hit me hard, I couldn't deny it. I had always been a relatively safe figure to be around. Did people really now look at me as a killer? It didn't make sense, at least, not in my eyes. Then again, I was on a biased side of the argument.

"Alright... I understand. Let's get to the front lines."

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

The area in front of the dungeon gate, which looked remarkably similar to the 1st floor dungeon, but with darker stone bricks and vines creeping from the cracks, was crowded with players. I had only been here an hour, but it appeared Klein was right. In the time I was here, grinding like the rest of them, most ignored me, a group of four actually walked away from me, and a heavily armoured man actually told me to stay away. Inwardly, I cursed at how easily influenced by words these people were, and also at my bad luck.

"Why, dammit? Most of them don't even know me?!" I steamed, venting on a patient Dale. I was seated with the Fuurinkazan on the rocky floor for a quick break, and was thoroughly fed up with being given a very cold shoulder.

"I wouldn't know, Tensei. Most of them are wary in times of danger, they are. And moments before a boss, that would qualify as a dangerous time, that would." Dale answered, staring across the rocky cavern. He turned suddenly to me. "But you got a few people with you, on your side. You've got the Fuurinkazan, all of us here, and you probably got Asuna as well."

"Yeah..." I sighed. I guessed, in their situation, I might have avoided me too. "Hey, can anyone tell me a little about the boss we're facing tomorrow?" I asked, to distract myself.

Dale grinned. "If you're looking for boss info, Issin's the man, he is." Hr chuckled, pointing to a leaner one of the group. He was always part I the Fuurinkazan, yet I hadn't spoken to him as much as the others. The man names Issin's gave a tight smile and burst into explanation without hesitation.

"The boss is in a crystal area, so there is less risk of actual death if everyone takes necessary precautions." Issin told me. "It takes the form of a huge black bear with a lion's head and mane. It holds a large battle axe known as the "Gyudoron", high attack power, as you might expect. He can stun players with a two-hit skill and regenerates 5% health every minute. Keep in mind that he has 4 health bars. This will be a tough boss, mainly because it is a heavily muscled type."

I listened silently and processed the information. "Sounds like a buffed version of the Illfang boss from floor one." I remarked.

Issin nodded. "It is remarkable how true that statement is. There are even minor minions being sent out, just like the first floor." I thought back to the first floor, where I was unconfident that I could be of help, and only stuck to fighting down the minions. This time, I would be a little more assertive in my actions.

"Hey, Dale." I ask the man next to me. "What do you think? If I work my ass off and actually do some good in the boss fight, you think people will lay off me with the rumours?" The plan already began to formulate in my mind.

"Sounds like it to me, it does." Dale smiled a little. The plan wasn't especially careful or intricate. By the knowing smile he gave me, I could tell he had guessed what I had in mind.

"If this is what you have in mind to dispel the rumours," Issin chips in, fist cupped to his chin, "then it will more likely than not work. It is time to present them with irrefutable proof of both your innocence and your use in the front lines."

_Proof that I'm not an asshole? Sure, I can do that._

And then it was back to grinding. I jumped into it with renewed vigour, with a sense of nervous pressure I hadn't felt since the first floor.

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

The next day came quickly, and the whole group had assembled in front of the large iron door, thickly layered with moss and fungi. It was clear that the front liners were used to this procedure by now. I recognised a few faces in the crowd. The Fuurinkazan, Kirito, Dokira and even Agil and joined this fight, the tanned warhammer user from the first floor. I hadn't seen him participate in a boss battle for a while now.

A man with silver hair and thick red armour comes to the front. Behind him, a familiar, chestnut-haired girl with a shining rapier already drawn and at her side, Asuna.

"Alright then." The man at the front had called out in a deep voice. Alarm bells rang in my head from the moment his mouth had opened. That voice... It was almost... familiar. "We will proceed to the 45th floor boss, as of now." With that, he turned around and pushed the door open. I dismissed the odd moment of recognition and focused on the battle ahead.

It was instant action. Everyone spread out properly, and about ten r so people had spread out to the sides, awaiting the smaller minions. As if on cue, five large, armoured "tiger masters" jumped from the shadows, all dressed like Kung Fu masters in uniform, complete with black belt and headband, all holding a red staff each. As if from the sky, a huge black creature fell from above onto the centre of the battlefield. The area lit up with a bright white light as soon as its feet made contact with the ground, causing a heavy thud. It was indeed like a bear, barring the head of a lion and a silvery mane. It's 5 bars appeared above it's head, along with the words, "Shryken, the Forest Demon."

I activated my passive Dash skill and darted to the minions, eager to 'tag' them first, easing the workload on those focusing on the minions. 'Tagging' referred to applying small amounts of damage on monsters, so that team players made simply to ease the workload of those having to finish the said monsters off.

I swiftly ducked underneath the ranged staff attack from the first Tiger Master and held both knives low, which in turn activated a skill. I swiped the shining, white blades up in a circular motion, slicing through the minion, causing a 21% health decrease. The monster snarled and twirled its staff around, similar to the motion of a roundhouse kick, and swung it at me while I was still airborne. Instead of blocking it, I grabbed the staff and pushed it downwards, so that it missed beneath me, then kicked the tiger in the face, causing an additional scratch to its health. Before it could recover, I jumped back, yelling. "Tagged! You're up!"

The person assigned to taking down the tiger minion stared at me in amazement, which quickly changed to a draining of colour in his face. He quickly turned away from me and raised his spear and shield, then charged at the tagged monster.

I grimaced. He must have realised who I was and wanted to avoid me. It wasn't he first time I received that treatment.I focused on the boss, who had just flung back two players at one with his huge battle axe, and prepared to swing down harder.

"Leave the blocking to me!" The grey-haired leader roared, wielding a colossal red shield, as tall as he was. The axe smashed down on the man, causing a deafening crash of metal upon metal. I fully expected the man to grunt painfully and crumble, smashed underneath the war axe.

Yet he merely shied off the blow to the side, causing the war axe to be stuck in the ground. Both man and shield seemed none the worse for wear, the former giving a smug smile. The moment did not last, as he roared again in that commanding tone. "ATTACK!"

I snapped back to reality and prepared to launch myself. The beast's weapon was stuck in the ground, yet he failed to pull it out. Out of nowhere, Asuna jumped directly at the beast's face and drew back her rapier. The beasts eyes widened, then narrowed. He released the weapon and swung upwards with a huge, muscled arm at the airborne Asuna. This time it was her eyes that widened as she curled instinctively into a defensive pose.

SHUNK.

The creature reared back in pain to find both my "Secret Edges" embedded in its upper arm. I wasted no time, pulling them out again, then activating skill after dangerous skill, landing a series of never-ending hits, forcing the boss into a standstill.

-Double Circular-

I spun twice, knives outstretched and slicing my war up its arm, past its shoulder.

-Cross Lunge-

The skill put up my right knife, causing me to lunge in mid air, striking it's face.

-Quadra stab-

My left knife glowed blue, and I stabbed the boss four times, before kicking off of it, landing behind it.

The monster roared and flailed, them connected a blind blow, sending me crashing back to the group.

I grunted and jumped back to my feet, noting my current health. 76%... From a single blow, the boss had taken out 24% of my health. I grunted and made a mental note to watch my health.

The lead group, the grey haired man and Asuna included, stared in amazement at me a the boss was floored momentarily. I looked around, not used to the attention. "Dude!" A guy who looked about 3 years older than me exclaimed from my left. "You just took out a whole health bar!"

"Did I?" I muttered distractedly. I looked up, feeling less pride in me than i would normally. I wouldn't allow myself to be happy with my work until the boss was dead. "As much as I clearly love all this attention," I yelled sarcastically, "lets finish this boss off before we rejoice and run happily into the bloody sunset, alright?"

Most of the battlers snapped out of their amazement and focused on the boss, who had gotten up and summoned a new axe, along with a fresh wave of minions. Except one, the silver haired man gripped his shield tighter, then chuckled a little at my words, before focusing on the fight. "The boy has guts." He remarked aloud, then drew a sword from his sheath, charging shield-first.

Asuna darted forward speedily and jabbed at the beast's leg, but provoking no action, so she slashed harder, causing a direct axe from above. Before it swung down, she screamed, "Switch, Heathcliff!" And the silver haired man named Heathcliff jumped in to take the brunt of the blow. I almost choked at the ease in which he shied the humongous war axe away. Stranger still, he wielded a one-handed sword in the other hand. How the hell did he manage to block the blow with one hand?!

I focused on the battle myself and called to Heathcliff, "Give the signal, sir, I'll attack when you want me to." He gave a nod, then slashed at the beast almost recklessly, shying away blow after blow with his enormous shield.

Meanwhile, I jumped off to the side and noticed a player getting knocked back by the smaller Tiger Master. I yelled instinctively, "I'll switch in!

I leapt in and initiated another Double Circular skill in mid-air, surprising the Tiger Master. It barely spared a second in reaction and spun its staff upwards, blocking both blows with resounding clashes. I grimaced. I had originally hoped to finish this one off quickly so that I would be free for Heathcliff and Asuna to call on me. Or maybe Kirito, who was currently slashing away like a madman at the main boss's torso. Maybe I could finish this minion off before that.

The said minion snarled and swung it's staff like a bat towards my face. I ducked quickly and retaliated with a skill of my own.

-Cross Lunge-

The knife in my right hand swooped upwards, into the minion's chest and face. It screamed, then whimpered, blinded. I drew back the knife and began to charge up my Close Combat Crush combo skill. It was a great combo skill, but combo skills had limits. This one took a whole two seconds to charge and, if they missed, you couldn't stop until the combo was over.

"Boy, switch in! Kirito, follow it up! Now!" Heathcliff roared.

I paled. I couldn't make it back in time, not that fast... Could I? An idea came into my head, so unorthodox, I thought I'd get yelled at for sure. I dropped both knives and lifted the blinded minion off his feet, then tossed it with all my strength at the boss.

The body landed heavily in it's face, temporarily 'blinding' it. It wasn't a real blind effect, but it couldn't see, and so it effectively did the same thing. I swooped down like a hawk and grabbed my knives, then held them both backhand and leapt up at the boss named Shryken.

By the time it cleared it's eyes by clawing it's own minion away, my combo was fully charged.

-Close Crush Combat-

The knives felt warm in my hands as I gripped them tightly, slashing inhumanly fast horizontally, vertically, diagonally, following it up with stab after vicious stab, then finishing by kicking it's face away from me.

"Switch, Kirito!"

The boss reared as I'd taken it's 4th health bar away. The Black Swordsman dashed, cloak flying behind him, more menacing than any superhero, and he struck, hard and fast. The blows he struck weren't as fast mine, having only one sword, but every blow stung, bringing the bar of health down sharply.

The boss seemed desperate now, and he unexpectedly gripped his war axe and swung it around in the opposite direction, downwards. The axe impacted the floor and caused Kirito to become stunned in front of the boss. Leering, it began to charge up a deadly skill.

"NO!" I roared. Instinctively, I leapt ahead and slashed wildly. Kirito was indeed someone I considered my superior, almost my mentor. I couldn't let him die.

_The Hierophant._

The thought shot through my brain, but I swept it aside. Blood was pounding in my ears as the relentless flow of attacks failed to be interrupted by some glancing blows that the muscled arms of the Forest Demon managed to land. I couldn't hear the boss, the minions, my allies.

Nothing.

I merely struck with reckless abandon, hearing a single rage-filled scream, which I realized too late, was my own voice.

A huge blast of white light almost blinded me, and my arms fell, limp. I was on the ground, crouched downwards, senses returning one by one. I breathed heavily.

In. Out. In. Out again.

A huge cheer rose up from all around me. I looked up, beads of sweat flying off my hair, and I realized that people had been watching my intense combo, which had... finished off... the boss?

I did it!

It was as though I was the star of a football team in America who had just won the world cup. A crowd of people rushed up to yell congratulations, a complete devoid of their earlier attitude.

"DUDE! That was insane!"

"I knew those rumours couldn't be true!"  
"Rumours? Who cares about that bullshit, he's awesome!"

Pride roared in my chest as the words echoed around my head. I realized that Kirito, Asuna and the leader named Heathcliff, who I trusted so much as a leader in battle, stood to the side, smiling gently.

"Well done... What was it, Tensei?" Heathcliff himself noted aloud, later, when I'd gone to talk to the group at the side. "I'm not entirely sure what rumours they were referring to, but whatever happened is over and done with."

Kirito chuckled aloud. "God dammit, Tensei. I said that day you'd do well, but that was more than a team effort, you practically lead the push!" I scratched my head awkwardly, but couldn't stop my pride surfacing in the form of a wide grin. Asuna smiled as well, but no words were necessary between us.

In less than a minute, The four of us were walking up the steps to the gateway, warmth still blazing in my chest. The gate opened in a bright light, and a floral, warm breeze greeted my senses, as though welcoming me.

Whatever hard feelings I had had been smashed to pieces that day. The wheel of fortune decided to turn my way.

**T/N: Ah, it feels good to get back into action scenes. Been awhile, huh? Next chapter requires a huge timeskip, I hope you don't mind. Next chapter, we'll move on to Episode 4! xD **

**For those of you confused, the first one-and-a-half years of SAO take place in the first 3 episodes, so next time we'll be skipping to that time period of episode 4! FINALLY!**

**This time, two random reviews from people we haven't heard from before, cool! Let's get to replies!**

**ShawolShroomVIP: Whoaaah, that's a lot of caps. Thanks a lot, hope you continue to follow the story! I have the next... few chapters? Planned out ish.**

**Kagemoto: Cool! Thanks for... well, an abrupt review, but still good :D Glad to see you enjoy. Keep with the story! It gets better!**

**Thanks so much for following this, guys :D I'm glad to have you around! Now the rest of you, please prove that you're following this, drop a review! Personally, I'm more interested in reviews than ratings :D**

**Tensei out!**


	13. Chapter 13: The Target

_**Chapter 13 - Target in sight**_

**February 23rd, 2024.**

How much time has passed? I can barely keep count. I only know by looking at the date and doing the math. It's weird. I want to see my family, but I don't miss them anymore. It's not like I have no memories of my family, but my life literally became the game. PKers existed, it was a fact. People were getting very comfortable with the game, some leaving the front lines. Times were hard, not all survived, that was how it worked.

I must have seen at least ten people burst into white shards, in front of my eyes during the lifespan of this death game. And every time, the shock of someone's brain being fried became smaller and smaller. Now, I can look at a boss straight in the face and see the people around me die without flinching. What did flinching do? Only give the adversary time to recover and attack again. Admittedly, I didn't know any of them, but the mere fact of death should have shocked me. But it didn't. Because we lived on in dangerous times in a dangerous world that would have liked nothing more than to end us.

Well, no. That wasn't quite true. After all, the creator of this world created it only to have a community of people living on a world of his own, and observe. In fact, I could safely say that there were places in the world that Kayaba Akihiko wanted us to enjoy.

Distinctly, I could recall the time I finished off the Forest Demon boss, and walked to the next floor, only to find a floor composed almost entirely of flowers. It was cool, inviting, and most importantly, safe. A fountain sparkled in the middle of a myriad of multicolored flowers, each and every one held an alternating fragrance, intertwining in the air like a couple's fingers to create a romantic, almost sleepy feeling.

What else can I see, with my mind's eye? Oh, of course. I hadn't seen Silica in ages. We didn't lose contact, but since the time I got her that feathered dragon, we never met up again. We didn't flit apart either. We just always seemed to be busy. I soon realized, we were never free at the same time anymore. Of late, she said she'd found a party to be in. Of course she was busy.

Argo had been swarmed constantly for information recently, and had been busy too. Kirito was doing as well as ever. Though, admittedly, he'd looked a little down around Christmas time. I never had much time to ask why. Or I interest, really. Emotional turns were common in this world.

That's right. For the longest time, I was a solo player. I had learned to adapt and fight by myself. I changed my stat build, and I was no longer an AGI-STR player build. I added more points to strength to adapt to taking enemies down swiftly. Because I was the only player left in SAO to use dual knives, my attack speed was only outstripped by Asuna herself.

Oh, Klein? Right, him. He's as active as ever. I work with the Fuurinkazan the most during boss fights, but otherwise, I rarely meet up with him.

And today, I stood, in front of a small, cobblestone cottage. A thatched roof with a stone chimney that emitted more heat than smoke, and was more comfort than a necessity.

Because, as of today, my wallet was 3 mega cor lighter. Because as of today, inn's would not be my resting places.

Because, as of today, I had a home.

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

**Floor 54: Skyridge**

Skyridge was the first legitimately sky-based floor. Despite the setting of the game, Aincrad, the 'floating castle in the sky', we had yet to see out of the floor worlds, and therefore off the edge of the castle.  
Technically, I was three floors below the front lines. But I'd found this place a more legitimate grinding spot than the floors above. On those floors, monsters were scarce and difficult. Not the most ideal exp-gathering situation. After all, this floor held easy mobs that spawned quickly, but not overly so. What was more, it was beautiful. Skyridge truly was a great platform in the sky. No one was stupid enough to try jumping off the edge to see what was below, after all, everyone valued their own lives, no one would be willing to experiment with them. It was a great rocky platform, yet grassy and cool, as though based on a mountainside terrain. Streams and rivers poured cool, refreshing springs everywhere.

But the refreshing scenery was not to be mistaken for refreshing, easy monsters, as I was finding out, first-hand.

It was a moment like this that the mountainside scenery was distracting me with it's splendour, and I heard a galloping of sorts. I turned instinctively, to see a giant ram-like creature heading straight for me.

I gasped and dodged sideways instinctively, but it was too close. A horn slashed my arm, reducing my armour level a little, as well as my health.

I turned as the creature screeched to a halt and turned. A holographic name rose from behind it, displaying the creature I was facing. "Tainted Ram."

I cursed and drew both knives, the same knives from several floors ago, The Secret Edges, with a potential +35 Upgrades. I'd used 12 of them so far, 6 on sharpness, 2 on durability, 4 on Quickness, all of which were thanks to a certain pink-haired blacksmith who insisted on keeping maintenance on them.

Back to the battle, I charged at the Ram as it charged at me. The weakness of all rams were their lack of ability to do aerial attacks. Following this logic, I somersaulted above the Ram just in time to avoid it's horns.

-Aerial Drill-

I aimed the aerial skill downwards, reaching both glowing knives into the Ram and felt the skill take over. I drilled into the Ram and span, lowering my knives as I did, which left me spinning faster than a cyclone.

The Ram bleated loudly, then glared at me through purple eyes. It's health was down to red, and I didn't give it another chance to attack.

-Reversal-

I activated the unarmed skill, which reversed my clockwise spinning momentum instantly, and sent my foot flying into the ram's side. It gave one last unnatural bleat, then died in a flash of light.

_Ah, that felt GOOD!_

A light voice came from behind me. "Good work, as usual, Tensei."

I turned around to see a very familiar looking one-handed swordsman, black cloak flowing behind him. "Kirito! What are you doing down here? I thought you'd be training on the floors above!"

Kirito sighed, looking unusually sombre. "Two reasons. The first is the same as you. Don't forget, you're not the only one with MMO experience."

"Ah, right. Of course. Sorry" I grimaced, but didn't get deterred. "So what's reason number 2?"

"Well... I've been feeling a little out of it, to be honest. I'm stuck whether I should help on the boss fight that takes place in three days." He sighed.

I frowned. "Hey, what gives? No offense, man, but you skipped out on the last, don't you normally alternate?" It seemed odd for my mentor and/or friend to break a routine for no apparent reason.

"No, it's nothing like that, Tensei. Without thinking, I accepted this man's request. Not an NPC, but he begged me to do it." He dragged out his player menu, and a few clicks later, I found a forwarded message sent to my inbox.

I scanned the message, eyes widening with each line I read down. "...The Silver Flags... 39th floor... attacked by... oh... I see." I mumbled aloud, then closed the message.

"What, done already?" He seemed a little taken aback at how quickly I closed the message.

"I'm a speed reader." I replied simply, as though it was the simplest thing in the world. "But back to your dilemma. So it's this or the front lines, huh?"

"Yeah... I don't want my named tarnished too much, don't want to give the impression I'm getting lazy... I really should go to the boss fight but-"  
"Tell you what." I smiled suddenly, surprising him mildly. I never usually interrupted people, unless they were being idiots in public. "Since you're reputation's sure to be 'tarnished', as you call it, we can't have that. Go to the boss fight."

"What? Tensei, you did read the message, right? It's not something I can just turn away from and-"

"Yep, we definitely can't leave this poor guild without a little vengeance." I interrupted him again, this time with a widening grin and a passionate determination in contrast to the flippancy of my grin.

"That's why, I'll do it."

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

Miche was a relatively popular town, especially at night. At night, the whole place lit up in an orange, soft glow, and the market and restaurants really came alive, like it was now. I could have enjoyed my evening here greatly.

But of course, that wasn't why I was here. I had come for a mission regarding the Silver Flags, a disbanded guild. Permanently disbanded, due to loss of members. After a brief look at the message, I closed it and moved off, into the Forest of Wandering.

As the name suggested, it was not an easy place to navigate through, the Forest of Wandering. I had stocked up a few teleport crystals beforehand, just in case, even though I had collected map data long ago. I put up my hood and kept moving.

A heard screech from the trees made me look up, and from the leaves, two 'Angry Gibbons' dropped down with known ferocity. I sighed. This was almost like Pokemon, a game I hadn't played since I was 7. I would loathe to run through fields of weak Pokemon, all of which were not worth my time, and so used to apply repellant to keep the threats at bay. Of course, in SAO, there was no better repellant than the cold steel of a weapon, inserted in the-

"KYAAAAAA!"

A high-pitched scream rent through the air. I instinctively turned away, looking at the direction of the voice, leaving the gibbons to attack away at me. I was so high-leveled in comparison, of course, that both attacks brought my total health down to 99.5%. Irked, I slaughtered both monsters with a flick of my knives, disregarding skills, and darted to the commotion source long before the gibbons had burst into shards of blue-white light.

I came to a clearing where the moonlight partially lit up the area, and found a player cursor, the player itself obscured from my vision, cornered by three large, threatening 'Drunken Apes', all of which holding large, wooden clubs that were as powerful as any mace. The wooden club came up, then down, before I could do anything.

Instead of a final death scream, I heard a strange animal cry of pain. Out of the side of the obscured battle scene, a blue, feathered dragon with a yellow cursor dropped to the ground by the force of the blow.

"PINA!" That high-pitched voice again, screaming for its fallen comrade.

_Wait... A feathered dragon... A high-pitched voice... Pina... That can only... mean..._

A short, twin tailed girl in yellow clothes and steel breastplate ran to her fallen comrade and cried out for it. It died hopelessly in her hands, unable to heed the calls of its master. she sobbed out loudly, which attracted a threatening growl from the ape directly behind her. She stiffened and turned slowly, tears in her eyes as the club came up again.

_NO!_

WHAM!

The girl opened her eyes slowly when she realized that she hadn't been hit. Instead, I held the club in my left hand, stopping it from advancing any further.

"W-what? Who-" she started to ask, when I crushed the club in my hand, turning it into useless splinters. I tossed the remains aside and drew both knives, fiery fury emanating from my eyes. I probably could have taken down the apes with unarmed skills, but I wouldn't. Anyone who dared to hurt my friends would get no sympathy from me.

A second ape leapt forward, club aloft. I jumped and brought up a knife to it's heart before it could move another inch.

-Hexastab-

Six stabs straight to the weak point. The monster stood no chance and disintegrated. I didn't wait for the rest to make a move, and unleashed a flashy cyclone of skills.

-Double Circular-

-Aerial Drill-

-Assassination-

-Crush Claw-

-Close crush combat-

It was shards that the monsters burst into, but they may as well have been ribbons, seeing as my insane 5-skill-rush had sliced both remaining apes to them.

I breathed hard, and turned. The girl that could only be Silica was sobbing her heart out over a large, icy-blue feather.

"Pina... I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have gone into the Forest alone..."

"Yes, you shouldn't." I said from behind her. She turned, but didn't recognise me, probably due to my hood.

"T-thank you so much for saving me mister... I would have died otherwise." She whispered, tears glittering in the moonlight from cracks in the trees.

"I know." I replied, lowering my hood and watching predictable shock form on her face. "But I said I wouldn't let you die, so here I am."

"Wait... Huh?! TENSEI?!" Her reaction was much louder than I thought It would be.

"Yeah, I'm down here on other business for now," I answered her unasked question, "and thank god, or I wouldn't have run into you. But..." I sighed at the glimmering feather in her hands. "I'm sorry I couldn't save Pina. I should have reacted faster."

Silica shook with renewed sobs and held the item tight. Seeing her so distressed troubled me, and I thought of ways to comfort her. Of course, the only way to do that was to resurrect the dead, an impossible feat.

Wait... Maybe not...

"Silica! Check what the name of the item is!" I interrupted her moment. She quietly obeyed, and the holographic readout came up.

Pina's heart.

"That's lucky!" I chuckled in relief, as Silica stared at me in mounting disbelief. "Silica, hearts are te essence of a being, it's Pina's centre! In other words, we can revive her!"

She stopped sobbing and looked at me through wet eyes, small hints of hope returning to her tear-tracked face. "There's a flower on the 47th floor, at the edge of the map, there's a garden called the Field of miracles. In it, you can pluck a flower that revives dead pets... Or so I've heard, I've never been there before."

She began to look a little more hopeful, then stood up. "Thank you so much, Tensei. I'll work hard, and one day, I'll get there and revive Pi-"

"It's got to be done in 3 days, or it won't work." I replied quietly. Her face fell. "C'mon, it won't be first time I helped you, just go with it... Hold up..." I stopped when I fully processed what she had said. "Work hard... Yeah but... Not to change the topic, Silica, but where's your party members?"

She looked with a mix of guilt and frustration down at the feather in her hands. "Can we go to town, Tensei? I'll tell you on the way, but it's a bit of a long story."

So we walked down to town. I'd actually quite forgotten that I had several teleportation crystals, but or whatever reason, we didn't get attacked again.

"I'd been in this new party for a couple of weeks now, and I was pretty happy. The guys were nice, if a little over-protective, but they were nice, I guess. There was other woman in it as well, but she was so... Arrogant. She acted like the head of the party, but she never fought in the front, or even contributed that much. It was probably because she was pretty, but the men in my party treated her like royalty."

"It all came to a point today when we won a large fight, but she asked to take our heal crystals. I needed them too, but she kept saying she needed them, and that I had 'that lizard' to heal me, so I didn't need heal crystals. Pina kept me healed, but it wasn't enough to keep me alive!"

"Of course not." I frowned. "Feathered dragons heal about a quarter each time, that's not enough in a pinch, it take them a full minute to recharge healing skills."

"Exactly! But I got mad at her and..." She lowered her head, depressed. "I guess I got over-confident when the guys started calling me "Dragon Tamer Silica." Silica kicked the road gently. "Some tamer I am, who can't even keep her companion safe. After the arguing, I left the party and tried to get out alone... I overestimated myself again, and almost died." She half smiled. "Again, you saved me. Just hen I thought I could be independent of you too... I wanted to show you!" She burst out suddenly. "I wanted you to see me and know that you didn't have to worry, that I could take care of myself!"

I looked at her with renewed understanding, why she was so reluctant to receive my help yet another time to save her feathered team mate. Under the light of the Miche street lamps, I studied her silently. I guessed, after helping her for so long, she wanted to be her own person without having to rely on others. I understood that mindset, I really did. I felt that way once, in the real world, from my mother, especially once she had to hold down two jobs to support me and my sister. I marvelled at the memory of my past life coming back to me at such a moment in time. As if she'd only just realised how serious she looked, she shook herself and smiled again. "I'm sorry, I'm getting overexcited again..."

"Oi, Silica!" Two excited voices from my left cut off my thoughts. Two young adults, maybe about 20ish, if I wasn't mistaken. They ran over to us with remarkable speed and began talking to Silica, as though I wasn't there. I stuck my hands in my pockets and waited for her to finish whatever they wanted.

"We should party up again, c'mon, it'll be fun!" They enthused. Silica seemed lost, clearly not wanting to accept, but not wanting to appear rude either. She looked at me and had a familiar lightbulb moment, then looped her arm around mine.

I almost hook her of out of pure reaction, but the scene was too familiar for me not to realize what she was doing.

"Ah? I'm sorry, but I'll be partying with Tensei for a while!" She smiled awkwardly and dragged me off. I could practically feel death glares boring into the back of my head. I sighed and gave her a look that said 'was that nessecary?'

"That old trick never fails me." She replied, hiding a small giggle. I laughed, remembering the first time we did that. Both times for the same reason.

"Oh, if it isn't Silica!" The prim voice cut through our moment of relaxed laughter. I looked up to see someone that could only be described as a lady in red.

Literally, she had dyes her hair red, wore red lipstick and nail polish, topping it all off with a great red dress. I instantly felt Silica stiffen up beside me, grip tightening a little on my arm.

"Looks like you made it out of the forest of Wandering. Good for you!" She continued, with a fake facade of joy. I couldn't help but notice Silica's discomfort. So this was the woman Silica was talking about, huh?

"Oh, what's this? Could it actually he that your lizard...?" She gave a little laugh, which brought my stomach to a boil.

"Pina didn't make it out if the forest with me." Silica seemed to be forcing herself to say it, yet her face was determinedly holding back any feeling of weakness. What had this woman done with Silica that had changed her peppy attitude to... This? "But we're going to revive her!" She looked up at the woman with a kind of desperate determination.

"Oh? So you're going to the 47th floor, huh? But will you make it?" The woman put a finger on her bottom lip, as though worried. "That floor's level is quite a bit higher than you, there's nothing to say you'll make it."

I held my breath and forced my anger deep down. I released the rearguard quietly, along with my tension, and stepped forward. "You don't have to worry, miss. It's really not that difficult there. And I'll be there to make sure nothing goes wrong." I smiled lightly, as though this woman was genuinely concerned. Her face turned a little sterner, then relaxed again.

"Who's this? Don't tell me you're another one she's seduced." She smiled, batting eyelashes at me, as though incredulous. When I gave no reaction, she stepped closer and examined me. "You don't look very strong to me." She said in a matter-of-fact tone.

That's when I decided I'd had enough. I took Silica by the hand and motioned to her. "Let's go." I walked off, leaving the woman with a blank expression.

I didn't really remember where I was going, I just kept walking away. I was pretty sure Silica noticed it, because she took over halfway and led me to a cafe to the side of the road. As I sat down, I could only breathe hard to let some tension out of myself. I wasn't normally this emotional, and the experience was new to me.

"Oi, Ten-chan!" Silica said in a raised voice, shaking me out of my reverie.

"Huh? Not that old nick-name again, what's up?" I shook myself and answered her.

"Maybe because you just zoned out for five minutes, while I ordered something for us to eat." She raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?" She asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just... Not happy with the way she spoke to you, I guess."

"Well, yeah... I guess. Why does she have to be so mean?

"Well... At the end of the day, people are playing a game." I began to explain. "It's a dangerous, scary, life-changing game, but a game. Now, a lot of people quite like to play the bad guys, because their own persona is behind a screen. Although that doesn't apply here, it doesn't stop people from playing a more malicious character." Silica looked a little nervous at this, as I continued. "The worst ones, of course, are the ones with a red indicators above their heads. Normal people like you and me have green indicators, right? Well, those who have committed crimes are orange." I paused, a flickering memory of my own orange experience burned a little brighter in the dark confines of my mind.

"What about red ones?" Silica asked, as though dreading the answer.

"Player Killers." I answered shortly.

She gasped in horror a my words. "P-player killers? You mean... they murder.. people?"

I grimaced. "Normally, player killing isn't too uncommon, in any MMO. But in here... It's hardly a task worth thinking about, let alone doing." I shivered convulsively. Player killers were the worst, really. Killing for the sake of fun, mostly. Asking people to give up lives for entertainment was a sick act in my mind.

"But Rosalia-san is green." Silica wasn't asking a question, it was more of a reminder. "She can't have done anything, even if she's a bit on the mean side."

I didn't answer. I couldn't. Not yet.

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

I'd signed us both into an inn for the night, since I would be staying down on this floor with Silica for the night. We'd taken two separate rooms, since I respected that, as a girl, she'd probably want privacy of her own. After all, I respected the wishes of all, friends included.

_Oh damn, I forgot to tell her the plan of how we're getting to the Field of Miracles tomorrow._

I stretched up from my bed and re-equipped my navy-blue cloak. It wouldn't do for her to not know anything about tomorrow. After all, it was her pet.

I strolled up to the door and knocked on it. "Silica?" No player could hear through or open inn doors that were already signed in, unless they knocked first, and the person let them in. Well, there were some circumstances that allowed the rule of doors being impossible to listen through to be broken. Sometimes, players-

"Eh? Ten-kun?" Silica's voice came from inside, surprisingly not sounding at all sleepy.

"I came to tell you the plan for tomorrow, is that okay? Or we could just go over it in the morning, if you're tired." I offered through the door.

"No, no, It's fine! Let me open the door!"

I heard soft, quick footsteps through the door and the wooden frame opened up. Before the door could open up more than a couple of inches though, there was a high pitched squeak from inside, and the door slammed hard again.

"Silica? Is something wrong?" I frowned. Instinctively, I checked the corridor. No one here, let alone criminals... what was she so afraid of?

No answer, but soon, the door opened again. Silica popped up, looking no different, except that she had changed into a light green shirt and skirt for comfort. Battle gear got uncomfortable, after all. Not thinking anything out of the ordinary, I walked in and moved the table closer to her bed, so she could sit down on it while watching.

As I took the "Mirage Sphere" out of my backpack, I noticed Silica shutting her eyes fiercely, squirming slightly. "Silica, are you alright?" I asked her, confused at her odd behavior.

"A-ah! Nothing! It's... It's nothing!" She insisted, frantically waving her arms. I found it almost suspicious, but waved it aside. Didn't seem important, after all. Instead, I placed the sphere on the wooden table and activated it.

"What item is this?" Silica asked, curiously, as it began to open itself.

"It's a way of showing map data effectively, called the 'Mirage Sphere'. Kirito lent it to me a couple of weeks back." I explained, as the sphere raised itself and projected a bright hologram, plunging the whole room into a space-blue light. I heard Silica gush in amazement at it.

"It's so pretty..." She sighed. I smiled and dragged out map data. Soon, the whole map transformed into a Solar System from space, lit in a blue moonlight-like glow. Aincrad, up to the 56th floor, loaded in a tall, thin tower.

"Here we are now," I pointed to a point lower down, "and here's Floria. Over... here." Double tapping it, the floor expanded into a more detailed map around us. "The starting town is pretty popular, seeing as it's a pretty... floral area. Let's see... the place is in the Hill of Memories, which is here." Upon my command, a 3D blue-lit flower field came up. "So we'll follow the track path from here, where the monsters are really weak. Not to underestimate you, understand," I clarified, "I just don't want you injured. So we'll take the track path and-" I cut off sharply and glanced at the door.

_What was..._

"Ten-ku-" Silica started to ask, but I didn't answer. Instead, I darted out of my seat and banged open the door loudly.

"Show yourself!" I barked, not really expecting a response. True enough, all I heard were heavy footsteps dashing madly away from our door, past the staircase.

Silica tiptoed timidly behind me, looking apprehensive. "What... was that?"

I shook my head and went back inside the room, shutting the door. The moment I heard the click, I turned to Silica. "Someone was listening on our plans." I replied tersely, grimacing. "They know how we're going to get there tomorrow."

"What? But... I thought doors were made so you couldn't listen through them, unless you knocked!" She protested.

"The situation is different if you raise your hearing skill high enough. Few players do invest in it, and those who do generally don't have very noble intentions." I grimaced.

"But who would want to listen on us?" She asked.

I didn't reply. I couldn't. Not yet.

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

**Message from:** Tensei

**Subject:** Update on mission

**Recipient:** Kirito

Just informing you for now. I thought I got sidetracked, but it turns out this detour leads straight to the target. Will be back to the front lines soon, if all goes well. The target has been found, and will be taken care of.

**T/N: WOAH that was long. Longest so far. As I'm pretty sure you figured out, this is just Episode four with me in it. It's a little unoriginal, I understand, but this is vital to build bridges between certain characters.**

**All my reviewers are liking Silica VERY much :3 May change the story a little to include more of her in it, since you all wuv her xDDD**

**Updates may be coming slower for two main reasons. One, exams, national exams... (Should be studying). Two, I started a "The World Ends With You" Fanfiction, and I am putting a lot of heart into that. I may even go on a half-a-month hiatus.**

**Review corner!**

**AmuletMisty - Oh hey! Haven't seen you in a while, Dina! It's great to get a review from you, especially one that's actually telling me what to keep doing and to focus on! I'm glad you find my OC to be believable, that was a major factor for me. Thanks, and I'll keep track of Sanctuary. Times Ten is my main Fanfiction priority, so you'll see a lot of that soon :D Just a heads up, sequels to fanfictions are against the FF rules. But yeah, I'll wrap up after SAO.**

**Atrile: Of course. Adding a little more Silica in now, and if you're patient, trust me, there will be larger doses of her afterwards.**

**And that's all for now! Wish me luck for my exams T.T**

**Tensei Out!**


	14. Chapter 14: The Dualist

_**Chapter 14 - The Dualist**_

_Ugh... Hell, why am I on the floor? Did I fall off again?_ I groaned a little, then rose from the hard wooden boards of the inn. _I mean, it's not bad, since there's no real sleep fatigue in SAO... But a bed would be nice to wake up to, I gues-_

My thoughts were cut short when I turned and saw a petite girl with long, caramel-coloured hair that trailed down just past her chest.

_WHAT THE LIVING SH-_

I almost yelled aloud, which would have woken the girl up. Luckily, my hand flew to my mouth and jammed it before I could make a sound. I let out a shaky breath as I remembered last night...

We'd gone to my room just to make sure that if the unknown eavesdropper came back, we'd already moved rooms, so they wouldn't have been able to find us. I'd literally just sent the message to Kirito before I turned to find her breathing lightly, hair undone, eyes closed and head on my pillow, I thought about waking her up before I realized the amount of things that had happened to her in one evening might have taken a toll on her. A fight with her party, almost getting killed, the death of a loved companion... in a sense anyway, added to the fact that we'd got to the inn at something like midnight, and you had one very tired girl. I didn't think twice about giving her the bed, and ended up falling asleep on the floor.

I lowered myself back down to a sitting position, leaning on the wall, and opened up the player menu. 8:30 am, AST. Fine, I would probably let her sleep for now. Instead, I opened up my messages, which showed a new one in my inbox.

**Message from:** Kirito

**Subject:** Re:Update on mission

**Recipient:** Tensei

Alright. It's up to you how you manage the mission. Again, thanks for taking it up for me. Boss fight starts today at 11 AM AST.

P.S. Do me a favour and get me some cheesecake. The 39th floor's cheesecake is really good.

I chuckled quietly to myself. Trust Kirito to be a bit of an idiot over serious situations. I, of course, already figured out the part about the cheesecake of this floor, having had a slice last night with Silica.

_I hope she doesn't mind me using her like this._ I fingered the message box guiltily. I hadn't meant to use my friend like this, but if she was my target's bait...

Rustling of bedsheets caused my to turn my head from my position by the wall, and I realized that Silica was just waking up.

"Nnnn..." She sleepily muttered. Not a morning person, clearly. She rose slowly, almost like a zombie from it's grave, with lack of grace to match one, then rubbed her eyes.

"Sleep well?" I asked nonchalantly. Her eyes shot open as she realized where she was. Her head flicked from staring at me in shock, to the bed, back to me. Her face flushed intensely, before she lowered her head meekly.

_She sick or something? Or maybe a nightmare?_ I briefly wondered, before I remembered that sickness didn't exist in Aincrad.

"A-ah... sorry for t-taking your bed..." Her voice was about twice as high-pitched as it normally was. I didn't really understand why, but shrugged it off.

"That's fine." I replied. "There's no actual difference anyway, since muscles don't ache from sleeping anywhere." I got up and sat on the bed next to her, then looked at her and realized something I'd completely forgotten yesterday.

"W-what is it?" She asked warily.

"Oh, no, I just remembered, you might want some better equipment before we go to the 47th floor. I think I might have some spare..." I opened out my inventory and requested to trade with Silica.

"Oh... Thanks again..." I maneuvered my spare equipment to the trade window.

"You might as well keep it afterwards, if it makes it any easier."

She was entirely silent the whole morning, and her demeanor was more timid. The red flush slowly ebbed away, but came back periodically. Even when we'd signed out of the inn and had breakfast, she was very quiet.

"Hey." I shook her out of her... mood. "You alright? Normally you never shut up, today you're really quiet."

"Oh..." She sighed deeply, ignoring the jibe. "I dunno, it's been a little crazy, these last couple of years... and I've gotten really cocky from being so popular and famous... I'm not sure if you know..." her voice lowered to a whisper. "Around the middle floors, like this one, some even say I'm some kind of idol... and I'm not even that strong! So meanwhile... A lot of guys have approached me to become partners and... one asked to even marry me. I've never quite gotten over that, so it's still a little strange to be partying up with another guy again."

"Even one as awesome as me?" I joked, hoping to lighten her mood.

"Yes, even one as- hey!" I laughed aloud, and she looked incredulously at me , having fallen for my ruse. "Jeez! You never change."

"Guilty." I answered cheerily. "And proud of it! Now come on, let's get to the 47th floor."

We walked to the town square in higher spirits, Silica becoming a little bit more animated, and I took out a teleport crystal. "Grab my hand, we'll travel together, no point wasting teleport crystals after all." She did so, and I announced to the sky.

"Teleport: Floria!"

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

The gate plaza of the forty-seventh floor was overflowing with multicoloured flowers. Two small paths cut across the plaza in a cross shape, forming a rather circular path through and around the fields. Aside from that, the rest of the space was taken up entirely by flower beds, each of them surrounded by red bricks and filled with flowers that emanated a familiar, floral breeze that intertwined in the air, forming a perfume no florist could hope to replicate in the real world.

"It's... amazing!" Silica gushed. "Like a dream..."

I smiled to myself. "I know. I had the same feeling when I came here a while back." My mind drifted back to the time we'd finished off the Forest Demon boss. I'd walked past the gates and almost stumbled when the contrast in moods between the two floors struck me full in the face.

Like a young child, Silica giggled and ran to the flowerbeds, then crouched down as low as she could. It was such a familiar motion, I was instantly reminded of the younger sister I had in the other world. I briefly wondered how she was doing. The last time I saw her, she was learning to play the piano at age 12... that would make her 14 now. Or at least, 14 this year. When was her birthday again? Right, she was exactly 13 days after my own birthday in March, so that would mean the 26th... 14 in a month then.

My gaze strayed to the many love struck couples roaming around the fields. This place had become a real romantic hotspot for young couples. I'd long since abandoned the notion that love was an unreal emotion in this world. After all, our bodies might be computer generated, but the time and emotions put into the game were from a real human being behind the other side of the screen. Or in this case, the NerveGear.

I walked up behind Silica, who was staring past the flowerbeds and at the pairs of boys and girls. A familiar red crept up her cheeks, as though her head was slowly filling with hot water. I couldn't really blame her, I suppose. Some of the couples were being a little... outgoing in their displays of affection.

"C-come on! Let's go!" She said loudly to me suddenly. "The hill is a while away right? Let's get there quickly!" She took off rather abashedly, and I laughed softly, feeling like the older companion of a group for the first time in a long time.

Unless you counted 5 minutes ago. That worked too.

We walked through the fields, out of the town square. Somehow, as we walked through the fields, me in the lead, I had a sneaking suspicion that Silica was constantly throwing me glances and stares. I didn't need my four-hundred detection points to realize that. Instead of questioning it, I kept walking. Everything would reveal itself when it was ready, after all. Silica included.

"So..." I cast around for a topic. "What level are you now again?"

"Ah, I'm level 44."

"Well, the equipment I gave you should make you about a level 52 equivalent in stats so... we're fairly safe, as long as you don't solo any of the monsters here."

"Like I'd be stupid enough to do that!"

Truly, the new armour I'd given her made Silica look very different. Red coat-dress dotted with golden Fleur De Lys like a coat of arms on each sleeve, replacing the yellow armour and breastplate. It was easier for her to move in, as well as more comfortable, and increased her Dexterity and Speed by 5. Much lighter, and very fitting.

"Yeah, where did you get my armour anyway?" She asked, suspicious.

"Well, you might not believe me, but when I team up with a group up at the front lines called the "Fuurinkazan", any spoils they don't want go to me, and there are a LOT of useless spoils. Well," I amended, "useless to us, anyway. One man's trash is clearly another man's treasure. Or girl's treasure, in this case." I winked.

Over time, Silica had really grown, and was getting taller. Again, I was still taller by almost a whole head, but she was clearly growing quickly.

"I wonder...I wonder how our bodies are doing in real life." I mused aloud. Silica looked at me, confused. "Well, if you think about it, we're all theoretically in hospital right now, with IV drips in our veins, keeping us alive... but really, that's all they do. Our muscles grow weak, unused, and probably really thin." I laughed bitterly. "An anorexic nightmare."

Silica didn't laugh with me. The thought must have scared her, to think her body in real life was wasting away, day by day. "Sorry." I apologized, patting her head. "I shouldn't really be bringing something like that up, anyway."

"N-no, it's fine... It's a little bit worrying, but I suppose we'll still be alive when-"

Her words were cut off when a humongous vined "Aincradian Flesh Trap". It looked remarkably like a giant Venus flytrap, with more control over its vines.

As if to demonstrate this, creepers snaked out at our feet, and chose a target, grabbing Silica's feet. Before I could do anything, she was hoisted into the air by the ankles. She screamed and struggled.

_Why the hell is she only using one hand to defend herself?_

And she was. Using only her left hand, which held the new dagger I'd given her, a steel dagger, she waved frantically. Her right hand held up her skirt, which was in great danger of revealing...

_Oh, that's why..._

"Tensei! Help me! A-ah, but don't look! Just kill the monster without looking!"

"How the hell am I supposed to kill it without looking?" I yelled back. "Just focus and take it out, it's really weak! And..." I cursed and turned away. "If it makes you feel better? I'm not watching!"

I heard a gasp, then Silica's yell of "This stupid...! THAT'S ENOUGH!" A long series of slicing movements, a roar of pain from the monster, and the sound of something being killed. I turned around just on time to see Silica land.

She turned around, face red, and asked. "D-did you see?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about..." I shook my head, walking back to the path, leaving her to catch up.

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

We reached the Hill of memories.

Like the rest of the floor, the flowery garden was filled with heavenly perfumes. Directly in the middle was a stone pedestal, with a silver-crafted bowl shape on top. Filled with rich, chocolate-brown soil.

"E-eh?!" Silica panicked. "Tensei! It's not here! W-what do we-"

I put a finger to her lips and smiled easily. "Calm down a little. Just walk up to the soil and wait."

She nodded, unsure, than placed her hand on the soil container. Immediately, a shoot began to sprout.

Have you ever seen a time lapse of a flower growing? If you haven't, you really should. That was exactly what it looked like now. The flower shoot grew quickly and budded, then opened up into a beautiful, pure white flower. Silica reached out to it and held it delicately between her finger and thumb, and the stem broke off in her hand. The notification came up on front of the flower: Pneuma Flower.

"Is this it?" Silica whispered. "Will this... Bring Pina back?"

"Of course." I reassured her. "If it was too late, 'Pina's heart' would turn grey, and be renamed 'Pina's remains.' That hasn't happened so we're safe.

"Thank goodness, and thank you, Tensei." She chuckled quietly. "It seems I'm always in your debt."

"Well, then." I looked out towards the fields. "Lets walk back, I think it's a better idea than teleport crystals for now."

She looked at me, confused, but nodded.

We walked back across the large stone bridge, which branched out over a huge, sparkling river. Silica couldn't help smiling to herself, in knowledge that she would soon be with her beloved dragon again. I couldn't blame her. She didn't seem to have many companions that she could trust, and the feathery pet seemed perfect for her.

Suddenly, my hand grabbed her shoulder and stopped her from advancing. She looked surprised, staring at me. Instead of answering, I enunciated clearly across the fields and trees.

"Whoever is lying in wait for us, come out now! Don't think I haven't spotted you!"

A beat of silence. Two. Then, a figure in a black dress, wielding a spear, came into view from behind a tree. The woman had familiarly rose-colored hair, eyes and lipstick.

"R-Rosalia-san?!" Silica recoiled. "What are you doing here?"

"Congratulations on making it this far, Silica. You obtained the Pneuma flower! Good for you!" She clapped in false joy. Her face then sharpened into a more malevolent expression. "Now hand it over."

"W-what? No!" Silica seemed scared out of her mind. I stepped in.

"That won't be happening, Rosalia." I replied boldly. She seemed a little sterner at my interruption. "Wait, that's not right, is it? Let me address you by your full title, Rosalia, Leader of the Criminal guild, Titan's hand."

Her gaze narrowed on me as Silica gasped. "But... She's green!"

"A simple ruse." I replied, not taking my eyes off the woman. "Criminal guilds always have a few green members, so they can lure victims to their comrades."

Silica stiffened behind me, grabbing hold of my arm instinctively. "Wait... So I was only in her party because..."

"...she wanted to hunt you down. And she stated in he party merely to suck all the resources and cor out of it first." I replied, contempt plainly shining in my voice.

The woman smiled easily. "Of all those useless idiots, I was looking forward to hunting you the most, Silica." Rosalia batted her eyelashes incredulously. "But then I heard you were going to get this... Amazingly rare item." Her gazed switched to me. "What I don't get is why you followed her. Are you seriously an idiot? Or did she actually seduce you?"

I could feel Silica shaking in rage behind me, seething. "None of those, Rosalia." I smiled, surprising her. "Silica wouldn't do that to me, I have faith in her." My voiced sharpened considerably. "Actually, I was looking for you, Rosalia-san."

Her eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"Ten days ago, you and our guild attacked a guild called the Silver Flags. You lowered their health to minimum, then dragged the party members out for monsters to kill, fearing red status."

"Ahh, I remember them... They had no money, I recall." She replied nonchalantly, twisting a red lock of hair.

"Their guild leader escaped, and used his cor on information brokers, to get to the front lines. Once there, he begged someone to avenge his guild." My face darkened, and out of the corner of my eye, even Silica looked a little scared at my expression. "Can you imagine how he felt? The pure desolation of having your whole guild, killed in front of your eyes?"

A tense silence followed, where I was completely silent, waiting for an answer.

"...nope."

My hands balled into fists.

She continued. "Are you seriously that stupid? There's no proof that killing someone will actually kill them in real life. And anyway..." Her smile widened to an evil grin. "Shouldn't you be worrying more of your own safety?"

She clicked her fingers.

Seven full-grown men, all with large weapons and high status armour, came out from the shadows of the trees. Silica gasped. "N-not good! There are too many t-to fight! D-don't-" I cut her off again, then placed a teleportation crystal in her hands.

"If anything happens to me, teleport back without me. And trust me." I looked her straight in her fear-filled eyes, as brown and rich as the soil she plucked the Pneuma flower from. "I'll be fine."

With that, I walked forward, ins heaving both knives. My Secret Edges. Silica called involuntarily, "Tensei!"

The man in the middle recoiled, as though struck. "Tensei...? Wait... Dual knives, Tensei, a navy-blue cloak..." He turned to Rosalia. "Ma'am! Not good! This is a frontline clearer! The Solo Dual knife user, the only one on the lead group still using dual knives! He's Tensei, THE DUALIST."

The words had a chilling effect on all present. Rosalia quickly recovered and yelled. "It's fine! A frontline clearer wouldn't be down here! And even if he is, we outnumber him seven-to-one!"

And they charged, all wielding glowing weapons with charged up skills. Within seconds, I could feel nothing but the blows from around me, but not their pain. I could see nothing but the muscled arms and shining weapons of the Titan's hand. I felt... Nothing.

Looking at my health bar, it was lowering very slowly. About 3% into my lifebar, the regen skill popped my health back to maximum.

Perfect.

I simply waited. The rush of attacks slowly petered out, and I was left standing in the middle of seven worn out men.

"Well... That's 400 damage in about 10 seconds."

The mob looked confused at my reaction... And full health bar.

"What the hell is wrong with your health?!" The man behind me shouted.

"It's simple math. You lot can only take down 400 health points in ten seconds, which is exactly how much my health-regeneration skill heals, per ten seconds." I grinned. "Add to the fact that I'm level 75, with about 14000 hp, and... Game set and match."

The guild around me was amazed, shocked... Scared. "T-that's impossible!"

"Nothing impossible here." I glared back at the man who yelled. "RPGs use an unfair level system, that's just how it works."

I took out a corridor crystal, a large, shining block, much bigger than normal crystals. "The Silver Flags leader bought this corridor crystal, using all his finances. It leads to "The Army" an their prison. Make no mistake," I glared at a shaking Rosalia. "You're all going there. And never coming back, until we clear this game, and in the real world? You'll be sentenced there too." My words carried a heavy effect on the entire guild, shocking them deeply. "You lot are going to hell."

Rosalia shook herself, holding out her spear, in a last grain of defiance. "You can't force me! If you hurt me, you'll be turned orange!"

FLASH.

I pressed my knives to her throat, my face twisted into a look that would have made any lesser man quail in fright. In an instant, I was directly in front of her. "Try me." I growled. "I'm a solo player. Orange means nothing to me."

Her dark spear dropped to the floor with a loud clang. Tears of fear came to her eyes, as she finally realized her situation.

"I... Admit defeat..."

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

"Sorry for involving you like that, Silica." I smiled resignedly at my hands. "I didn't mean to use you, but it seemed you were my target's target. It was too perfect."

We were back at the same inn on the 39th floor, in Miche. She'd returned here for the night, and I'd returned with her.

"Nn... It's fine." Silica smiled, a gently, genuine smile with real warmth in it. "In the end, you saved me, then took care of a guild that was targeting me. You really are my guardian angel."

"Pick another guardian angel." I laughed. "I'm too rude a guy to be your angel." She giggled with me. Then rested her head on my shoulder.

There was a kind of sad silence, as Silica knew what was coming next. "So... You'll be going back to the front lines now, huh, Tensei?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." I opened out my message box and quickly typed to Kirito a shortened message that the mission was complete, and that I'd packed him a cheesecake. "Of course... I've been away for a few days now. I should really go back."

Silica squirmed uncomfortably, and I realized she was on the verge of tears. I could guess why. Instead of confronting her directly, I spoke softly.

"Levels are just numbers." She twisted her head on my shoulder to stare at me. "There's no huge gap between us, Silica. Never be afraid to call for my help or whatever. No one gets by alone, even me. So let's finish SAO, then meet in real life."

I smiled, a profound silence in my wake. Silica looked at me in wonderment, then blushed noticeably. "A-ah... I should revive Pina." She took out Pina's heart and the Pneuma flower, then tipped one towards the other, letting the Pneuma Flower essence drip onto the feather. Her eyes lit up with hope and joy at the resulting flash of light. And then...

Pina the feathered dragon sat in front of us, purring happily. Silica gasped, and her eyes watered. Soon, she was hugging the feathered creature like meet before, sobbing tears of happiness. I grinned as well, then ruffled Silica's hair.

"Pina! Oh.. Pina...!" She stopped suddenly, then faced the dragon towards me. "Remember to say thank you..."

The dragon purred happily, and I could almost see a hint of real gratitude, despite it being an AI. Was it? Was it really possible? After all, no AI would have made the feathery dragon fly in front of Silica to take the brunt of a heavy wooden club. I shook my head gently and smiled, stroking the dragon. "You're welcome, Pina. Take good care of Silica, right?" I stood up and stretched as naturally as I could. "Well, I'll see you around Silica." I smiled, ruffling her hair. She didn't protest, but looked immensely sad to see me go. I felt guilt as I opened the door, and it followed me as I walked out and closed it.

_Whew..._

To be honest, the day really wore me out, and acting ten times more threatening than I usually was to actual players mentally drained me. I wasn't used to the thought of force, but I had to use a lot of it today. I briefly recalled opening the corridor crystal, then dragging the Titan's hand members and throwing them in. Except for Rosalia, who tried to sneak away, to which I lifted her bodily and tossed her through the gate in a temper.

_Well, she deserved it._

The door behind me opened.

I turned around to see Silica running out of her room, face fully flushed. Before I could ask what was wrong, she grabbed my hand with hers, and dragged me. Back inside the inn room.

"Silica, what's wrong?" I asked as she slammed the door. She didn't answer, just gripped her cheeks, which were flaming red.

"A-ah... It's... Tensei... I... Gah!" She threw her arms frustratedly up in the air. Clearly, trying to say something... but too embarrassed maybe? What could be so embarrassing though? "Why does this have to be so hard?!" She exclaimed, then stared at me for a couple of seconds.

"Silica, if there's anything you want to tell me-" I never finished the sentence, as she grabbed my face and sank her lips into mine.

...

...

...

_Wait... WHAAA?!_

My senses literally numbed, as she broke the kiss, fully red in the face. I couldn't even tell whether my own mirrored the same red, all I could feel was shock.

Silica managed a small, cute smile than shone with hope. "Eheheh... sorry. That was all."

"...Um... right. Can I get back to you on this?" I managed to force the words out.

"..Yeah... sure... I think we should... I mean, you should..." She twisted one of her twin tails of hair shyly.

I could barely feel as I walked out of the room a second time. Two seconds after I closed the door, I heard a wail of pure embarrassment through the door, making me wish I hadn't leveled up my listening skill at all.

…

_Well... Let's get to the front lines and... make good on the promise. Get back to her on that, or she'll be a little... hopeful._

If only I hadn't been so numb, so blur at this point. If I had been a little more focused, as I found myself in the town square, I would have noticed the figure in the background, fully cloaked, with a large mask.

Underneath the cloak, he gripped a blade that looked eerily like a butcher's knife, then stalked off into the dark alleyway behind the inn I'd just left Silica in.

**T/N: Eh... Yeah... I'll just... leave this here... Sorry if it's too much sudden fluff. :P**

**It's odd how I always rant about too much fluff in people's stories, but then I find myself adding bits of it as well. Maybe romance is just easy to write about. But hell, whatever. I really shouldn't even be uploading this, 20 mins before I have to rush for an exam**

**Review**

**Amulet Misty - Yes well... Ten's role might be a little more than a brother at this point. Thanks for reviewing, Dina, and I'll have a look about the rule on sequels and get back to you on that.**

**Blaze Shadow - Thank you! Maybe it's just that the story isn't updated regularly, that I don't have a large review count. Again, thanks for the compliments! **

**Atrile - Ahahaha, a lot of people seem very happy with the lovable loli, so don't worry, you're not the only one.**

**H.K. Trautmann - Welp, hope the story was worth it! Sorry if the fluff got to you -.-"**

**And finally, let me just say that I'm going to live has officially reached 22 reviews! Woah, seriously! It's the biggest amount of reviews I've ever received in a story! WOOHOO CELEBRATE xDDD**

**Review please, guys. To be very frank, I don't really care much about ratings as much as I do reviews. Reviews GIVE ME STRENGTH! xD (So please review)**

**Tensei out!**


	15. Chapter 15: Death

_**Chapter 15: Death**_

"Here you go." I plonked the small box down in front of Kirito. "You said you wanted cheesecake."

Kirito stared in wonderment at the box, then peeked inside, and shut the lid again. There was excitement in his expression, mixed with laughing disapproval.

"You do know that when I asked for 'some cheesecake', I meant 'some cheesecake'. Not 'A whole cheesecake.'" He chuckled at me. I put on the most offended face I could and took the box.

"Fine, have it your way, I'll take it ba-"

A blinding swoop, and the box was gone from my hands. Next I knew, Kirito had his player window opened, and stored the whole box in his inventory.

I snickered. "Welp, that settles it, I guess. Enjoy!"

I was sitting in the floor of the new 60th Floor tavern, which was growing in popularity. The new floor was strange. It was a more simple floor, flat plain with large central town. In fact, in terms of theme, it was very similar to the first floor, except that the central town was much larger. And held more bars and restaurants. I'd joined up with Kirito and Klein in the tavern for a drink.

"Thanks again, Tensei." He chuckled, then grew serious. "Well, so how did the mission of The Silver Flags go?"

"All sealed up in 'The Army' and their headquarters. More likely than not in prison." I reported. Kirito sighed, relief spreading over his feminine features.

"That's good... I was worried that I might have to give up the boss fight for it, but it looks look both ends are tied... that puts my mind at ease."

"Well, alls well that ends well, right?" I grinned. Kirito looked at me curiously.

"You seem a lot happier, suddenly. I would have thought going down to lower levels to round up an Orange guild would have tired you out." he noted.

My mind came up with half a dozen excuses, each as ridiculous as the next. Unbidden, the memory of Silica's... actions... shone clearly in my head. "E-eh... nothing much. It's nothing important." I muttered.

Klein, who had been more focused on his drink than on the conversation, up until now, put down his tankard with a loud thunk. "You know, you're not very good at hiding some of your emotions, Tensei." He chuckled. "Your face is bright red." He unsheathed his dagger and held it up in my face. I could see, in the reflection of the dagger, that he was right. My face was bright pink, the colour of boiled ham.

"Soooo..." Klein continued. "Who's the lucky lady and what happened?"

I spat out my ale in surprise. Just how much had he figured out?! "W-what makes you think there's a lady involved?"

He rose an eyebrow. "Well, that's assuming you're straight, which I hope you are..."

SLAM.

The noise echoed throughout the tavern as his face hit the table. I held out a fist, still glowing from the use of the unarmed skill that forced Klein to perform the traditional, age-old faceplant. I faced a bemused Kirito, who had surveyed the entire scene with an air of mild confusion. "Please ignore the idiot who questioned my sexuality." I smiled brightly.

Kirito couldn't help smiling at my extreme actions, while Klein managed to unstick his face from the table. "Okay, okay! You're straight! Man... It was just a joke." He sighed, muttering something about 'no sense of humour.' "Anyway... I wasn't too far off the mark with the first bit, right?"

I backed up a bit, wary. "...How did you guess?" I growled.

"Hey, when you've been in love with as many women as I have, you tend to recognise that expression. I'm practically a master at love." He boasted proudly. I raised my eyebrow in amusement.

"Can you really say that considering none of your attempts bore any fruit?" I reply sceptically. In response, he sputtered out some of his drink. Unexpectedly, a message came to save me from any further interrogation, which I was glad for.

By the time I read the message, I wished I'd taken the interrogation instead.

"Guys... I... may need your help." I whispered slowly. They looked at me tensely, sensing my change in mood. I flipped the display window, letting the other two read the message.

**Message from: **Silica

**Subject: **-

**Recipient: Tensei**

I promised, if we ever met again, I would ensure your death. After all, the Coffin always has the last laugh. Your precious friend will be dead by midnight, unless you make it in time to save her.

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

"So... Who's this Silica person?"

We'd gone to an alleyway behind the bar to ensure that no one heard our talk. Kirito and Klein both consented to follow me there. It was dark, damp, but isolated and silent. Perfect.

I briefly explained who Silica was. Klein looked thoroughly confused, as soon as I'd finished. "I don't get it. Why would she be sending you death threats if she's one of your best friends?"

"Because wasn't the one who sent the message." Kirito replied grimly, before I could. "I recognise that last phrase.. The Coffin always has the last laugh... It's from the PK guild, Laughing Coffin, right Tensei?" He looked to me for confirmation. I nodded stiffly, worried sick for the safety of the girl I had only been with less than twenty four hours ago.

"The leader... PoH swore to kill me the next time we crossed paths, because I managed to escape him and his guild... and because I know too much about the Laughing Coffin..." I gulped. "I didn't want to drag Silica into it." I muttered, guilt flooding my system. Kirito knocked my arm. "Hey... It's not your fault. You couldn't have known he would go after your friend." Kirito comforted me. It didn't help, but it was good to know that my friends were trying to comfort me.

Klein interrupted us. "I'm sorry, maybe this is a really stupid question, but I'm confused, so let me just ask it. If this is the leader of a PK group, how did they send a message from this girl? If the person isn't on your friends list, shouldn't it say 'unknown user'?"

Kirito looked at Klein. "Think Klein. The only way to send a message from 'Silica', is for 'Silica', herself to send it." A look of shock swept over Klein's features as I steeled myself to say the words I dreaded.

"PoH has Silica."

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

I told Argo that I'd meet up with her at the 8th floor, in the village of Friben, Silica's hometown, where I was rushing to, in case there were any other clues of where to find Silica. Silica's house... the door was open. Inside, not a trace of a struggle. The little hamlet-styled house was as clean as ever, pots hung up, Pina's stand clean and standing, the hearth was untouched, cold.

_So Silica never made it home. Damn! There's only one way to find them now..._

I ran outside to the centre of Friben, where i attracted a couple of stares from NPCs. My mind was spinning far too quickly for me to even attempt to slow down. Where was PoH hiding? Was Silica alright? I hoped PoH was acting alone, he was frightening enough. The whole of Laughing Coffin was filled with skilled players though. Yes, fearsome players, with unquestionably terrible ethics, but they were skilled nonetheless.

"Ka-bou!"

I turned to see Argo running towards me in a not-so-dignified fashion from over the hill. My message to her must have made her realize that this was no laughing matter.

"Argo! Perfect!" She slowed down in front of me. "Look, this is important. Remember the PK guild? Laughing coffin."

Argo panted a little, trying to organize her thoughts. "Laughing Coffin... Yep. What do you need to know? Let me just say, the price isn't going to be cheap, they're a very cloak and dagger guil-"  
"Money isn't a problem!" I all but yelled. "Just answer my questions, and I'll give you a hundred thousand cor!" Argo seemed stunned. She'd never asked for that kind of money, and I had the distinct impression she hadn't planned to, especially from a friend.

"Alright... Tensei... I'll answer your questions, but I also want to ask you one in return." Before I could protest, which I was close to doing, she waved it aside. "Come on. Your question."

"Laughing Coffin. Do you know their headquarters?" And just like that, she went as white as a sheet.

"...You can't be thinking of going there." She whispered. "They already know you, they'll seriously kill you!"

"Look, Argo... please... I won't be able to live with myself if I don't do this." I pleaded. Her eyes shrank at the sight of me, actually begging. I don't think I've ever reduced myself to this kind of state before, not in front of her. She swallowed. Then nodded.

"Alright... I'll give you the map data. But you have to come back alive. Got it?" She made me nod my head before continuing. When I finally did, she traded map data to me, in exchange for 100,000 cor. "It's for the 45th floor. Head west of Maogen, in the opposite direction of the dungeon. You should turn up at a huge cliff, a bit like the Grand Canyon, but a little smaller. I've marked the map data, so the red spot will show you where their current headquarters are."

"Good... Thank you so much, Argo. It means alot to me." I hugged her briefly and was about to dash off. But she gripped my arm and stopped me.

"Tensei... why are you after them?"

I stopped. How would I explain it? Ah! Of course Argo knew about Silica, Argo the information gatherer would know about Silica, she was practically an idol in the mid-floors! "They've got Silica... I've known Silica since SAO started, we're really good friends, so... I can't let them do anything stupid!" I blurted it all out at once. She stared at me, then let go.

I thought of nothing as I gripped the teleport crystal in my hands, as I roared to the heavens. "Teleport: Maogen!"

A flash of white light consumed the vision of Argo, who was looking stricken.

_Wha-?_

I had no time to ponder what I'd just seen, or thought I'd seen, as I landed in Maogen. It was already twilight, and the sun had begun to set... how many hours did I have left? I quickly opened up my player menu and messaged Kirito and Klein to come to Maogen. I needed their help, since I doubted that PoH would be acting alone.

True enough, within minutes, Kirito and the Fuurinkazan had all made it. I had no time to wonder how Klein had managed to gather them so fast, but instead gave him a thumbs up and a shaky smile, which he returned with an encouraging one of his own.

"Alright... I've found the Laughing Coffin Guildquarters... and I think that's where PoH and Silica are..." I attempted to explain without my voice wavering. "So, let's go." No one questioned me, but nodded instead. I took the lead and ran out of the town gates, the group behind me.

In my mind, I had to admit the fact that I was panicking. Badly. Somehow, I'd always known that Silica and I were kind of like brother-and sister, more-than-friends and less-than lovers. That was just how we were. But last night, Silica closed that final gap between us, and began building the bridge over the less-than-lovers gap. How hadn't I seen that she'd loved me? I knew from the beginning that we loved each other as the best of friends, but... the fact that the gap was being closed didn't feel bad. It really didn't. Somewhere along the way, especially in that flowery field, our bond strengthened past that.

But now... just when we'd begun to accept our own emotions and feelings, this had to happen. I'd dragged her into something dangerous... again. It was bad enough when I had to use her as bait for the Titan's Hand mission, and the guilt of which I hadn't quite gotten over. Now, she was in more danger than before, targetted not by an Orange guild, but a full on PK guild... What had I done?

Klein caught up behind me while I was in my thoughts, running along. When I'd finally noticed him, he had a small smile on his face. "What?" I questioned warily.

"No, it's just good to know I was right about the girl." He chuckled.

"Girl in life-threatening danger here, Klein." I growled. "Not the time to tease me."

"Sure, but don't expect me to hold back when this is over." And he paced himself back with his group. I almost cursed at him before I realized he was trying to calm me down by making me think of other things. At the joke, he'd made it clear that we would be alright, and that we were going to be safe by saying "-when this is over." He made it seem like a foregone conclusion, which comforted me.

Eventually, we reached the cliff, and slowed down. "This is it guys." I said, trying to think of something to say. "Okay... I have a plan. I'm going in first. This is what they want, and it will give them something to breathe easy about. Once I'm in, I'll probably be attacked. When that happens, rush in." Kirito looked troubled at the plan.

"Don't worry... I know what I'm doing." I assured him. He only looked more troubled at my words. Instead of wasting more time, I ducked into the crevice that the map data led me too.

The crevice widened further in and formed a cave, narrow and short, so that had to bend down to continue. Way to keep a hidden base hidden. Where did Argo even get this information? Whoever found it for her, kudos to them...

I came out into a torchlit cavern, only dimly lit though. It was large, maybe about 20 metres long, and 10 wide. Down the centre, I saw a clear cut path down the rock, up to a figure, who was bound and gagged.

Silica.

I ran up to her in panic, all thoughts of the plan forgotten. "Silica! Oh thank god you're okay! What... you're health is yellow! Come on! Let's get you-"

"Tensei, no!" She screamed, as soon as her gag was off. "It's a trap!"

Stab.

I felt the paralysis seize my body, entering from the small throwing knife in the back of my shoulder. I seized up and fell, managing to twist my body in time, so that I would land face up. Behind me was PoH, as well as 7 other members. All with red player indicators. PoH laughed boomingly.

"I knew you were stupid, boy, but not this stupid!" He taunted. "March straight into the lion's den without a plan? For a boy smart enough to gather information our location, you are immensely dense!" He kicked my face, bringing my health down 5 percent. "Did it not occur to you that we'd be ready for you?"

"It did." I muttered. PoH seemed to find delight in my dead expression.

"And yet you came stomping down here, as though you were Kayaba Akihiko himself? What could have possessed you to do that?"

"Silica was in danger." I answered simply.

PoH spat in disgust. "You are stupid. I thought you had more brains than that, and yet you abandon yourself to mere emotion." He looked away, frustrated. "What a waste, you-"

"NOW!"

The voice boomed from behind them, and they all turned, just in time to block Klein's initial strike. The entire of the Fuurinkazan stormed in, 6 people including The Black Swordsman Kirito himself. It was equal numbers, if you included me. All down to a question of skill.

The force of the blow pushed one member back into PoH, causing him to stagger. He had no time to rest, though, as Issin attacked him with a mace skill, which he dodged.

I felt the paralysis begin to wear off as the members of both guilds fought tirelessly. Silica, still bound though not gagged, gasped in fear of the fight. Soon, I was on my feet, both Secret edges unsheathed.

Payback time.

As if on cue, I heard a roar of pain as PoH knocked Issin into the wall, and held his Butcher's knife aloft.

_NO!_

I rushed into him and barreled into his side. He staggered, then twisted, eyes flashing menacingly. Before I knew it, he swung his knife, leaving a glittering trail through the air. I backed up, and he began to attack me relentlessly, his blade glittering dangerously through the air each time. I blocked a few, and took a few shallow attacks to the shoulder. Not too far in, my health was turning yellow.

I gritted my teeth and attacked back, launching Cross lunge, the same skill that blinded him over a year ago. But he grinned maliciously and dodged the knife skill with apparent ease, leaving the skill's inertia to carry me past him.

I was wide open... Surely, he'd attack me, and it would be over...

He didn't disappoint.

A charged skill turned his knife bright orange, and he swung down into my back, cutting into me deeply. He laughed, withdrew his knife, and attacked again.

Again.

Again.

Again...

The shock of each blow kept me momentarily stunned. I was lowering into the red zone of my health... only 16% left. Silica screamed from behind PoH. "TENSEI!"

I was on the ground again, PoH at yellow health, me almost past red. It was a determined match, and the end of me, unless someone could intervene. I looked to my teammates hopefully, but they were all engaged in their own combat, Kirito attacking like a madman, fending off two players at once with his single blade...

It was over. I knew it. PoH knew it, as he grinned evilly and whispered. "It's show time..."

His butcher knife swung down and struck one more time, hitting me square in the head.

Klein pushed off an enemy, who had been defeated, before spotting me. "NO!" He roared, jumping onto PoH.

_Dammit..._

But it was too late. PoH's knife was embedded deep in my head, and the Damage over Time effect was immense.

_Dammit...! All I wanted to do was save Silica! Was that so wrong?!_

My health dropped below. It was at 1% now...

_DAMMIT! WHY CAN'T I DO ANYTHING RIGHT?! _Tears of frustration leaked out of my eyes, as I failed to pull the knife out of my forehead.

Darkness.

In the darkness, I couldn't feel anything, or see anything. But I did see a notification pop up in front of me, in red, all capitals.

**YOU ARE DEAD**

Blackness.

**T/N: Aaaand end. Yep. This is a speed up in updates, but don't expect anything, I'm going back to school soon, since I have exam leave during exams. That's why I've been writing so much. Woah, in literally 24 hours, you guys have already given me two reviews! YOU'RE ALL AWESOME!**

**Reviews**

**SulliMike23: Ahahaha! Yes, you're right, you called it 9 chapters ahead, nice insight! xDDD Keep reading... please. Silica's kiss does not warrant the end of the story. xDDD**

**Death5367: Woaaah... That's really messed up. Reminder though, most RPGs take on the "Stat curve" theory, so that their stat boosts actually accelerate over time, to give bigger rewards. After all, if you think about it, +10 HP might not be much to a guy who already had 14000 HP, as opposed to a guy with 250 HP. It would make sense, kind of. But hey, That's life, I guess. (Or, RPG life, I should say.)**

**Reviews please! I feed off of them, and haven't had dinner yet, so please give me reviews xDDD**

**Tensei out!**


	16. Chapter 16: Different

_**Chapter 16: Different**_

"Ah...!" I couldn't help gasping when my head struck the stone wall. For the first time, the paralysis was wearing off. Even as I struggled, my hands were already tied together by what seemed to be thick, strong rope.

"Well, girl... it seems I'm lucky today!" I got my first full look at my attacker. He was large and cloaked, with a dull-grey beast-shaped mask on his face. Underneath it, I could make out a malevolent grin, with more teeth than necessary.

"W-what do you want with me?" I meant to say defiantly, but it came out in a squeak. Ahhh...! Why did my voice always go so high whenever I was scared?

Mere minutes after Tensei left me at the inn on the 39th floor, I was paralysed by this strange man and taken here, dragged by the hair. It terrified me. Who would attack me, and why? Did my fame in the middle floors attract attackers?

My fear was only too painfully obvious to the masked man, who laughed. "Do not tell me you're scared already, we haven't even begun." He tutted to himself. "But a man must always answer a young lady's question, I suppose. What we want from you is simple. We want you here to lure another player in."

I remembered Ten telling me that some criminal guilds needed green players to lure others in. Immediately, I cried aloud, "I won't do it!" But to my surprise, he didn't begin to threaten me or hurt me or anything. Instead, that infuriating, booming laugh.

"Ahhh, what a noble soul! Your boyfriend has taught you well!" _Boyfriend? _Did he mean Tensei? "But you misunderstand one thing. You don't have a choice. After all, we only want one player in particular." His answer confused me. Before I knew it, his hand swiped downwards, and a familiar sense of something protruding from my skin...

_Another throwing needle...? _The needle struck my arm and re-paralysed me. _W-what..._ He grabbed my hand none-too-lightly and traced the air downwards. My player menu came up.

Nothing could have prepared me for what he made me do.

My message window opened up and opened... _Tensei's message window._

I froze. Tensei? Wait... they were targeting Tensei? He typed a threatening looking message that I couldn't see properly, then sent it off.

The man laughed quietly to himself. "That should do the trick... Now let's see how much your boyfriend is willing to go through to save you." Again, the man tutted. "Well, I don't have enough poison to keep you frozen indefinitely." He materialized 2 strips of cloth and tied my hands together roughly, behind my back, then one around my mouth. The cloth was rough on my skin, and the one tying my hands together felt especially frustrating, limiting.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a brown sack that seemed to be moving on its own. Struggling against the limits of the material. A muffled, frustrated crow came from within, making my head shoot up in panic. _Pina!_

But I couldn't do anything to save my partner. In fact, I was in a worse state myself.

And like that, he kicked me away, causing my health to go down a fair amount, and stalked off to some corner out of my vision. As I was paralysed, I couldn't even squirm in discomfort. I did groan softly into the cloth around my lips.

_Help me... Please save me Tensei... I'm so scared._

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

I must have dozed off somehow. I moaned and opened my eyes, wishing it had all been a nightmare, born perhaps from my pumping heart the night before. Of course, It wasn't. My view was greeted by a fearsome sight.

8 fully grown men, all looking more ragged, yet stronger, than the Orange guild, the Titan's hand. Among them, I recognised only one. The masked man with the booming laugh, completely silent for once, yet a look of malevolent glee in his eyes. All of them were lined up against the wall, among the shadows. If someone had come through the entrance now, they probably wouldn't have noticed the red members.

Footsteps.

No! How long had I been out? It couldn't be that late could it? As scared as I was, I was also concerned for Tensei's own safety. Before anything else happened, the person I longed to see appeared. At the same time, he was also the person I did not want in danger.

"Silica!" Tensei yelled, unaware of the threats surrounding him. He ran up to me and kneeled down to undo my binds. "Oh thank god you're okay! What... you're health is yellow! Come on! Let's get you-"

"Tensei, no!" I screamed aloud once the gag was off, staring terrified at the man who'd captured me. He'd taken aim with another throwing pin and was about to throw it at my saviour. "It's a trap!"

Stab.

Tensei's face mirrored shock as he keeled over, managing to twist his body in time, so that he landed face up. He cursed and glared up at the 8 people who had all come away from their places by the wall. "I knew you were stupid, boy, but not this stupid!" My captor taunted. "March straight into the lion's den without a plan? For a boy smart enough to gather information our location, you are immensely dense!" He kicked Tensei's face harshly. "Did it not occur to you that we'd be ready for you?"

"It did." Tensei muttered, looking as though he was regretting jumping into the cavern without thought.

"And yet you came stomping down here, as though you were Kayaba Akihiko himself? What could have possessed you to do that?"

"Silica was in danger." He answered simply, as though that explained everything. Despite the terrible danger surrounding the situation, I couldn't help but form a tiny smile, and feel heat rush to my face.

The man, however, was not impressed. "You are stupid. I thought you had more brains than that, and yet you abandon yourself to mere emotion. What a waste, you-"

"NOW!"  
More booming than any of the murderer's laughs, the call rang through the room from behind the crowd of villains. Without warning, several people launched themselves into the fight, apparently on our side. A lanky man rushed ahead of the group, attacking my captor with a mace. Soon, an all-out brawl formed before my eyes. In the time given to me, I backed as far into the corner of the room as I could, the binds on my arms still not undone.

Tensei's moment of paralysis seemed to wear off, as he jumped up and unsheathed his green-white knives. Without thinking, he barrelled into my captor, who was holding a huge butcher's knife as a weapon. Unlike Tensei's knives, his knife was large, almost crude, but seemingly high in strength and power. They sparred, each side taking blows, mostly to their arms, but the battle kept causing me to gasp. Tensei was so close to being severely injured several times. He gritted his teeth and charged up a single knife, lunging across with tremendous speed.

My captor simply grinned, as though expecting it. He swept to one side and let Ten push past him. My heart flipped over as I saw the man charge a skill and threw his arm into the swing of the knife, which plunged into Tensei.

The hairs on my heart stood up, and I felt a chill steal through my very soul. The chill spread as Tensei was hacked at again and again, and I couldn't do a thing.

"TENSEI!" I screamed, without thinking. His health shot down to red.

_No... No, no NO! _I struggled against my bind but couldn't. All I could do was weep as Tensei's health went lower and lower.

A tall man in red samurai gear broke free of the fight, and had finished off his own combatant. He jumped over the scrum to me, and sliced my cloth bind in two. "Are you alright?" He didn't even finish the sentence, though, when he spotted what I was crying at. "NO!" He roared, and launched himself at Tensei's attacker, striking him relentlessly. The fight carried off to the side, leaving me to hurry over to the weakened boy.

My heart felt like it stopped when I saw his empty healthbar. Not a sliver of red, all an empty black. I grabbed his body, as it started to glow bright white.

I learned, literally a few days before, that having someone you care for deeply disintegrate in your arms is the worst feeling in the world. That time, when Pina had burst into shards, I felt like my heart was tearing in two. This time, with Tensei himself disappearing, I felt like my whole self was tearing in two, down to every last seam.

I wanted to scream. Scream and scream until my throat burned to hell. I even as I lifted my head, I could only choke.

_This time, there's no flower to revive him. Nothing will revive dead players._

That was when the man dressed in samurai gear leapt over to me. His eyes were wide with terror, but instead of the pure feeling of loss in his eyes, they were more frantic. About what? It was over. But he paid me no mind. Instead, he raised a beautiful, crystal spear and squeezed it between his fingers. A light came from within, and grew brighter and brighter. I felt the despair seep through me heavily. What did it matter what this man was doing?

_Yes... That's right. Brighter... Let my eyes burn. Let me burn. Nothing matters anymore._

But the light didn't grow too much brighter. It moved down the area on the floor, where Tensei previously was. It shaped itself, similar to the shape of a certain 16 year old boy.

Eventually, the light died down. I looked at where the light had been and saw...

_No. It's not him. It can't be him, he's gone._

But even as my pessimistic devil tried to convince me, hope flared in my soul as the light died down. The man was beside himself with relief. "It's alright, young miss. Tensei's revived. He's not... gone yet."

And there he was. Tensei was lying on the floor. A health bar appeared above him, displaying a full green filled bar. And that was enough for me. I sobbed and hugged his reformed shape as hard as I could. Maybe he was unconscious, but he didn't respond.

I was so absorbed by the scene, I hadn't realized that the fight around me had quietened down. I looked around, and saw that most of the ragged PK group had been paralysed or knocked unconscious.

There was a boy, about Tensei's age, who'd observed the defeated enemy without a trace of happiness, yet no sadness either. He seemed almost indifferent to what he had done. Spotting me, he walked over, black cloak billowing behind him. He sat beside me.

"Erm.. sorry... 'Silica', was it?" I nodded, silently wiping tears from my face. "I'm sure you and Tensei have a long history for whatever reason, but I would like to ask you to become stronger than you are now."

I stared at him. Was this guy seriously thinking of levels at a moment like this? "Not to underestimate you, but Tensei is a very... sensitive person. He cares deeply for the people around him, and can get emotionally injured... easily." He shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not exactly one to talk, but he doesn't really interact with the community much. I know how it feels to lose people close to you." The boy's dark pupils focused on my caramel brown one. "So please, be strong enough to look after yourself."

I nodded slowly. Afterwards, the words would be the note to stay in my head the longest.

A small shifting movement made me turn my head. Tensei was stirring, and I'd let go of him in response. His eyes opened a little, then blinked and opened up all at once. Deep blue eyes met the 3 pairs that stared back: Caramel, brown and black, respectively. His mouth opened as he said his first words out of the world of non-being.

"Uhh... Hi."

I'd never slapped Tensei to the face before, but I guess there was a first time for everything.

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

But there was something different.

We all celebrated that night. All of us. Practically everyone that Tensei knew was there, most of whom I had never met before. Kirito, the Black Swordsman and the boy who talked to me in the cavern, the Fuurinkazan, which was a frontline guild that the red samurai led, and a pink-haired girl named Lisbeth. She seemed to know Tensei pretty well, regardless.

Tensei was subject to a lot of teasing on this night. It was hard not for Lisbeth to tease him, since I was officially his girlfriend now. Pina purred excitedly at the sight of us, as though congratulating our official pairing. Maybe the feathery dragon approved of us? I hoped so. There was a lot of alcohol as well, which wasn't technically underage drinking, since we were in Aincrad. Kirito popped out 2 bottles of "Ruby Ichor" out of his inventory, a liquor that increased your dexterity by one per cup drunk. It was precious, but he insisted there was no better use for it. The sour-sweet taste of the liquor was strangely comforting, and warmed my chest when drunk. It was strangely nostalgic.

But there was something wrong. Something different. As ecstatic as Tensei was when we'd revived him and explained to him the situation, there was something less-than-ecstatic now that we were celebrating. Lisbeth's jokes and teases made me blush a lot, but instead of doing the same, Tensei smiled thinly and laughed it off, then resumed a quiet, pondering state.

Even after the party broke up for the night, he was quiet. When I talked to him, he would act happy, not trying to get any closer to me romantically, then resumed a quiet reverie.

There was something different. It turned out I wouldn't have long to wait before he told me what it was.

**T/N: Let me please congratulate all of you... that was, by far, the biggest reaction I've ever had to any of my chapters xDDD A total of 9 reviews! THAT'S INSANE... xD So apologies while I spend about 500 words trying to answer them all. If only you reacted to all my chapters like that, I'd have enough reviews to keep me in a creative burst to make old age sweet. xD**

**And congrats to all of you who managed to guess what I was about to do! And for any people that haven't figured it out, this is an entirely Silica-POV chapter.**

**Review replies!**

**Panthour - Well, thanks for your help on the PM by the way, it gave me some good ideas on how to progress. I'm very glad you don't actually want to kill me xD. It feels odd, you're the first reviewer to really dig deeper into my characters, so it feels both weird and oddly comforting to see that someone knows my story... better than I do, really, I'm just going on the fly, up until now, anyway. Keep with the story, and I hope to see you again in the review corner!**

**Sullimike23 - Nice call xD You seem to have a knack for guessing what happens next, from Silica's pairing to Ten's revival. Stick around, and thanks for the review :D**

**SilverFlameHaze - You called it! Thanks for the review, and be sure to stick around, it gets better.**

**Blaze Shadow - Technically, this is the in-between of episode 4 and 5, and the Rez item was in episode 3, so yes, this is the right time-period. Thanks for sticking around from the beginning, I seem to remember you being one of my first few reviewers, nice to see you've stuck till now :D**

**Nakinama Nara - It's okay, Nakinama-san, you can look now :D I have to take this as a huge compliment... To see that someone can take my story so seriously, that's an epic feeling. Stick around!**

**Atrile - ...Wow, that's something to consider. SILICA IS THE CENTRE OF ALL EBIL... wouldn't that be fun, the most innocent loli in the story is actually evil mastermind.**

**Amulet Misty - Thanks again for reviewing, Dina :D I remember saying that I wouldn't pair them YET... because she was 12 years old, now she's 13, about to be 14, let the hormones run free! xD You really do like the guys teaming up a lot, so I'll try and put more guys in. Looking back, Tensei's been with a lot of girls. (Jeez, that's not what I'm like at all. xD) My exams are over, but college is not letting up, so updates are the same as ever, in terms of speed. Good luck, and I'll be stalking Sanctuary.**

**Adventist-Pony09 - Thanks! Thumbs up to you too!**

**Guest reviewer - NOT COOL... huh... okay, welp, he's not dead, calm down xDDD. Again, like the above reviews, to see that you say that was the worst cliffhanger of your existence is a compliment to me, because it means you really feel for the characters. Knowing I can do that, Awesome. Stick around! I'll see you in the next chapter!**

**What did I tell you, 400 words for review replying alone, and 200 to finish the T/N... welp, that was fun. Thanks so much for the support, I really love the review count, 24 to 33 in a week! WOW! xD**

**Thanks again, I'll see you soon, Times Ten will be updated soon, Reviews are my food and Tensei is OUT!**

**Tensei out.**

**Again.**

**P.S. For updates on Fanfictions, follow me on Twitter, you can find that on my Author page. **


	17. Chapter 17: Beyond Death

_**Chapter 17: Beyond Death**_

The roar of them Aincradian Flesh trap rent the air apart, as I slashed at its vines one by one. It started to flail its half-cut vines everywhere I'm a desperate attempt to hit me, but I simply jumped from vine to vine, my lithe form soaring through the air. From the air above, I held my steel-tipped dagger high above my heads and swung down, just as it began to glow orange.

-Aerial Vertical-

My dagger came down on the Flesh trap's head and cut deep. I didn't stop there, pushing the dagger deeper into the screaming plant a final recoil, it burst into blue-white shards.

As I landed, skirt fluttering in the breeze, a holographic readout came up.

Victory!

Exp: 550

Gold: 250 GP

You got Plant Fangs! (2)

Level up!

Level: 52

STR +1

AGI +1

5 stat points earned

I sighed and closed the readout. It would normally have taken me a couple of weeks to level up to this stage, but after Tensei lead me through these fields, I found the monsters every bit as weak as he'd SAO they were, yet try have about as much experience a any other 47th floor monster. Perfect for my training. In the past 2 days, I'd achieved incredible levelling speeds.

_I wish he was here... _

_But then again, it's my fault he isn't._

I'd insisted on a couple of days alone to sort out my emotions. I kind of expected (hoped) that he would protest and try to keep me with him, but instead, he simply accepted it quietly, ruffled my hair, and saw me teleport away with a quiet, gentle smile on his face.

_What is wrong with him?_ I thought frustratedly._ I thought he liked me back, but this sudden distance... Does he... not like-_

I flailed desperately, my blows hitting nothing but air. Of course. There was nothing to hit. Either way, I wouldn't allow the thought to form.

The only real place I could train was the path to the Hill of Memories - most of the floor was much stronger, and I would have to level up to level 55 before I could even attempt soloing those monsters.

_Soloing, huh?_

I didn't know how Tensei could stand soloing the entire game. I had only been alone 2 days, and it was already driving me crazy. There were plenty of people who wanted to party up with me, but after my recent experiences with parties, I grew reluctant to jump back into another one, unless it was someone I trusted. As I mused over it, a thought struck me.

_Who do I trust?_

Well, Tensei was an obvious one. Kind, caring, if a bit vulgar in his language sometimes. He knew priorities, clearing the game was important, of course. It was the easiest way to save huge amounts of lives. But for him, friends came before clearing. After all, what was the point of living without friends? Tensei wasn't amazingly handsome, but his gentle features never failed to capture me.

_Right, enough lovey-dovey stuff, who else do I trust?_

I listed them off again from the beginning. Tensei, then... Uhh... Who had I been talking to? I racked my brains for any conversations I had made recently. My old party members were out, they saw me as a mascot. What about the party we had to celebrate Tensei's revival? That girl seemed nice enough... Lisbeth, was it? She was a pretty girl with a bubbly personality, and would probably be really easy to get along with. Kirito, the Black swordsman... He was a lot more humble than I thought he'd be. With such a reputation, it was amazing he didn't let it get to his head... like my own reputation did.

There was something about the haggard face of the red-armoured samurai that told me: "Stay the hell away from him!" I shrugged to no one in particular. Until Tensei introduced me properly, I guessed I would just remain wary.

After the insanity of the last couple of years, I trusted precious few people, especially male players. And there were plenty of those. From young players as old as Tensei, very few as old as me, a few adult male players as well. I also met a nicer old man, who was genuine, and didn't want to party with me, or get close to me, he simply wanted to talk.

I think his name was... Ehh... Nishida-san! Yes, that was it. The old fisherman seemed perfectly content to chat with me, and I spent the hour talking to him about the fish he had caught and the ones I could use for cooking.

Oh, for those who didn't know, my cooking skill was pretty high, I was at about 350 points at this point in time. I can cook my own meals, and I did, back in Friben.

Pina decided to interrupt my thoughts and crow at me, shaking me out of them. It was a good thing she did, I almost walked into the town walls.

As I stepped back into the centre town of Floria, I couldn't help but notice a brown-hooded player, sitting against a bench. Not on it, against it. The player was alone, and his face was shrouded in the shadows of his clothes. He wouldn't have been suspicious, but I couldn't help but feel he was staring... At me?

I felt a chill run down my arms, and continued to walk as though I had not seen him. The few couples around were too preoccupied to notice the player. He had a green cursor, but that didn't prove he wasn't up to no good. My fears heightened as the player got to his feet and walked straight towards me.

The player was not much taller than me, but moved swiftly towards me with purpose and focus. Abandoning all pretence, I faced the unknown person directly. But instead of stopping, beckoning, or even taking out a weapon, the player kept moving, and gave a cool wave.

The smooth demeanour lacked any hostility, allowing me to relax slightly. Slowly, the gloved hands rose to the edges of the hood and lifted it.

A girl with shoulder-length brown hair met me.

"Yo." She saluted me with a small smile. Around her face, painted whiskers seem to twitch upwards with her lips. "Nice to meet you, my name is Argo, the information broker, nice to finally meet you."

I shook her outstretched hand. "It's nice to meet you too, Argo-san... Wait, 'finally' meet me?" I found her choice of words a little odd.

"Like I said, information broker. Sorry to break it to you, but pretty girls always get asked after, and you are any lolicon's dream."

Her choice of words alone made me blush. I wasn't THAT little, was I? Well... Maybe I was. 13 years old, 145cm tall, yeah fine...

"Hey, am I talking to Silica the dragon tamer, or boiled ham in a dress? I can't tell." Argo joked around. "Your face is going to explode if you blush anymore."

"Gah! What do you want?" I burst out, my face burning and literally sending off steam, thanks to SAO's exaggerated emotion system. The information broker laughed aloud, before sobering up.

"Alright, fine, down to business." She began to fidget a little. "I-I want to ask some questions about K- I mean Tensei."

My wariness shot back up as the blush sucked itself from my cheeks. "Who needs to know?" If Argo was really an information broker, who could be gathering information on Tensei? I probably would have answered this question a week ago, but the last week's hectic events made me inspect everything slowly and carefully, guarding my words around anyone and everyone.

"N-no... You don't understand. I'm..." She struggled with herself internally, then sighed aloud. "...I'm asking for myself."

I frowned. Information brokers, in Tensei's own words, were pricey mines of information, stats and rumours, leaving no room for emotion or bias. For an info broker to let her own priorities get in the way of everything else... Her credibility would plummet if anyone found out.

"... Alright, but if there are questions I can't answer, don't push it." I warned. Argo deflated a little, then recovered. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone you've been asking." I added softly, as though to add comfort to the awkward atmosphere.

The mousy-faced girl brightened up and looked relieved, a gesture of silent thanks. "Okay then... How long have you known Tensei?"

"Since the very first day." I answered. The memory of that traumatic first day was burned into my mind, so I could recall the day with little effort. "He was a beta tester, so I asked him to show me the ropes."

Argo raised an eyebrow. "He didn't seem suspicious? Or treat you differently?"

"No... What could he have been suspicious of?" I questioned back. But the information broker remained cagey, and simply shrugged. I supposed every bit of information cost something to her.

"Who has he been in contact with, since the start of SAO, do you know?"

"Well... Me. He's also been with some frontline guilds and the solo player, Kirito." When I looked back at her, the mousy information broker had taken a small, leather pad and was writing with what looked like a red quill. "Eh... If you don't mind, could we sit? Standing is getting uncomfortable."

It went along for a while, and she got a large amount of info from me. She got me to tell that Tensei had been in touch with KOB vice-leader Asuna, The female blacksmith Lisbeth, and a few others, and that he was normally alone, except for recently, where he made a party with me in order to take down an orange guild. I expected her to explode with excitement at the note of Tensei taking down a whole orange guild, but she didn't seem as interested. Twice, she'd stopped talking and concerned my mouth with a small, gloved hand, and waited for couples to pass by. Not that they were interested in eavesdropping, but Argo was taking no chances.

"Okay, thanks a bunch, I'll just ask one last question. Does he have a girlfriend?" Argo asked, looking as though she was just finishing up.

My throat tightened.

I wanted to say, "Yes, he does! It's me!" But something held me back. Images of Tensei's distance and aloofness over the past few days flashed in my mind, with every twitch of my mouth.

_What's wrong... _

Argo must have noticed the discomfort, yet she didn't say anything, merely waited for my response.

More than anything, I just wanted to say it, but my lips wouldn't move, as though they were petrified.

"It's alright." Argo interrupted my thought train. Her smile seemed suddenly and painfully forced. "I never force clients to tell me anything they don't want to. "And, not to be rude, but you have an unread message." She pointed above me to a flashing message icon. How could I not have noticed?!

I looked up and opened it.

**Message from: Lisbeth**

**Subject: Tensei**

**Recipient: Silica**

Err, Hi, I'm Lisbeth, from the party the other night. I think we need you to come over. Tensei's locked himself in his house, and I'm wondering if you can get in, or get him out. No one can contact him, so we're hoping you might be able to do something.

When I looked away, Argo had disappeared with the wind.

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

**Floor 54: Skyridge**

_Skyridge, huh? _

I teleported to Skyridge with a few helpful messages from Lisbeth, and we eventually arrived in front of a large, white stone house with a wooden roof. Only the black swordsman, Kirito, and the same pink-haired girl from the party, Lisbeth.

The floor did scare me a little. An endless expanse of nothingness lay at every end. I'd never been good with heights, but what was I supposed to do when I saw a _bottomless___drop? Instead, I just steered away from the edges.

Considering I was about 10 levels below the recommended level to be on this floor, this place was even more dangerous than any other part of Aincrad I'd ever been in. But I'd managed to find the residential district, so I was in the safe-zone.

"What happened?" My first two words, once I'd reached the pair. Kirito grimaced, while Lisbeth shrugged at him in response.

"Not much to tell you. He's locked himself in the whole day, and hasn't been responding to messages." Lisbeth sighed. On closer inspection, she looked very tired. Though it may have been due to SAO's exaggerated emote system.

"Is he even in there?" I asked worriedly. She shook her head.

"Kirito listened at the door, his listening skill's pretty high... He can hear Ten mumbling to himself... " She looked uncertainly at the door.

_Mumbling to himself?_ They made it sound like he'd lost his mind! Without thinking, I ran over and knocked on the door, hard. "Tensei! It's me, come on out, we're all worried about you!

No response.

Kirito sighed. "I wouldn't bother, we both tried that and-"

_Bing!_

The sound rang through the air and cut Kirito's words short. I looked up to the source of the sound - my messages! It had to be him! Needing no prompting, my finger leapt up to the message and opened it.

**Message from: **Tensei

**Subject: **-

**Recipient: **Silica, Lisbeth, Kirito

Sorry for making you all worry. I just need time to think. Kirito, I'll be back on the front lines tomorrow. Silica, sorry for the distance. Lisbeth, the hot dogs on the floor of your shop are really good.

I stared over my message window at the other two, to see their reactions. Kirito had already put a palm to his face, and Lisbeth's expression sent a clear message: _What the hell do hot dogs have to do with the current situation?_

Kirito rolled his eyes. "Well that was anticlimactic. I'm out, if that's it. It's getting on about 5 in the evening, I promised I'd go for a meeting about the next floor boss at 7, so..." He shrugged and looked at Lisbeth.

The pink haired girl also nodded. "Might as well. Who knows, I should look for this hot dog thing he's talking about..." She seemed a little miffed at the thought of going to eat hot dogs for no reason, yet her lips twitched upwards a little.

That left me.

"I'll stay here for a bit longer, I can go back down myself. Thank you for contacting me about this, Lisbeth-san." I faked a smile at her, but she waved it away.

"Please, call me Liz." With a smile more radiant than mine. With that, she raised a teleport crystal. "Teleport: Taft!" And a flash of blue light.

Somewhere, in the conversation, Kirito had disappeared.

_He's really mysterious..._

But that was besides the point. I stayed because I knew there was something afoot. He tried to add levity to the situation by joking with Lisbeth, but something was still very off, and I knew it. Why? Even when all of Japan erupted into a panic over the SAO incident on the very first day, he stayed calm and comforted me, then pushed on. So what could have shaken him so much to derail him for an entire day? No... I'd been gone for 2 days, maybe he'd been stuck here this whole time?

"But why...?" I muttered aloud to myself. It was an obvious question, with a not-so-obvious answer. What could be so bad, to shake him up so much? Was it the incident of me getting kidnapped, almost getting killed? I hoped not. I was working hard to make sure I could take care of myself... Or was it his own near-death experience? After all, for me, it was heartbreaking to see him... die. No. 'Heartbreaking' didn't do the feeling justice. Devastating, heart-shattering and soul-wrenching were closer to the mark. What about him? Or did he just... fall asleep, then wake up again, to find us in front of him?

Whatever it was, I would have to wait until he was out and about to ask him.

_There's no actual difference anyway, since muscles don't ache from sleeping anywhere._

_Oh that's right..._ I remembered Ten telling me that during the Titan's hand incident... Maybe... I'd just sit on his doorstep and wait for him...

I dusted the doorstep, then sat down it. My head leaned on the doorframe.

_Tensei... What's wrong? Why won't you just tell me?_

…

…

…

"Silica!"

My eyes opened.

I had no idea when I even fell asleep, but I must have, because it was pitch black, except for the bright, yellow light coming from behind me. I looked back, and upwards at the figure blocking most of the light.

"Tensei!" I leapt up, sleep forgotten. How long had I been out? What time was it?

"Are you an idiot?" He hissed. "Never sleep outside in public, that's just asking for a sleep PK!" He seemed so worried, and continued to drag me into his house without waiting for an answer. Once he shut the door, he sighed and turned to me, when I got a good look at him.

His gentle features seemed not only tired, but sleep-deprived.

"...You look terrible." I said, without thinking.

"Oh, thanks." He rolled his eyes, then motioned to sit at the table with him.

His house was comfortable, log walls, polished wooden floor, floor cushions and a low wooden table. A kitchen at the back, had a floor upstairs, possibly for bedrooms, and a wash room next to the kitchen. Only one thing struck me as strange.

"Eh... Tensei. The walls are wooden."

"Oh really?" His words dripped with sarcasm. "I'd never have guessed."

"No, no! The walls of the house were stone blocks from the outside!" I amended quickly.

"Oh, that..." He trailed off, then touched the floor with a finger. "The game lets you change the insides of a house, if you have the money, but not the outside. So the wall kind of... changes from outside to inside."

We sat next to each other at the table, on the floor cushions, until the silence became a little uncomfortable. Eventually, Tensei sighed. "So I guess you'll want to know what happened, right?"

"Yes please." I blurted, before I could stop myself. The corners of his lips twitched up at my speedy reaction, and he motioned for me to come closer. Instead of edging closer, I simply put my head on his shoulder, again, before I could stop myself.

Two seconds later, I was blushing again. When did I get brave enough to do this without thinking? But Tensei didn't seem to mind. He took a deep breath, then began speaking.

"It was in the cave. When I... died. I thought that was it. I thought it was over. All I saw was darkness. I couldn't open my eyes. I was sure the microwave shock would burn my brain. But..." He paused. Then, when his voice came again, it sounded weak, almost asking for help. "Although I couldn't see anything... I could feel something. And I could hear something..." He broke off.

A beat passed.

Two.

Then I broke the silence. "W-what was it?"

His breath was raspy now. But he forced the words out, and I almost recoiled in shock.

"You might not believe my but... I heard a voice... crying... and..." Another pause. "...I think it was..."

"...My sister."

Silence.

**T/N: WOAHHHH. Sorry for being inactive so long guys, I'm SO busy. Really. No, REALLY. It's summer holidays, and I still don't get a break.**

**Well, thanks so much for the support over the last few chapters! I may as well tell you, I lost a bet with one of my friends, Yuki, so guess what I have to do now? Get ready for a fanfic of my least favourite anime, K-on! Yaaaaay... T.T**

**Alright, Review corner!**

**Panthour: Well, about Argo. You'll see, I don't want to say anything, but you should be able to figure it out, being the... educated gentleman you are. :D Hope you enjoyed what was REALLY bothering Ten.**

**AmuletMisty: Welp. Words. I said I'd update my stories soon, and here we go. Interesting about your views of men and their banter. I'll think about that.**

**Namikaze Nara: I don't even KNOW how I got your name wrong so badly xDDD But to clarify, PoH had actually been taken to the Aincrad Prison run by The Army guild, just like Titan's hand. I somehow forgot to mention that o.o**

**SulliMike: Well, I'm pretty sure even you couldn't have guessed what Ten was disturbed by this time :D**

**RomanceDagger: Viva la fluff indeed. I'm glad not to be whooped. I actually only found out about Persona Tarots recently. I just had a friend who was into Tarots and she suggested I put it in. Thought it would be good.**

**Atrile: I'll be honest, I wanted to deliver even stronger, but I didn't know how else to say "TENSEI IS NOT DEAD" Without dragging it on too much further. Good to know I wasn't the only one who thought it was lacklustre then.**

**Kagemoto: Kind of the point :p**

**Water: Well, I always notice EVERYONE IS OVERPOWERED BEYOND BELIEF, so I make it clear that it's not always like that IRL. I'm not sure where you got nature. Tensei is actually Japanese for Reincarnation. If you want more info, go ask my parents xD I dunno, they gave the name o.o**

**Shoutout to Skyecute877's fanfic of "Welcome to SAO". It's interesting and focuses more on Beast Master...ing.**

**And one last thing! I haven't even drafted the story for Times Ten or this story, or even the K-On one, so give me time before you expect an update.**

**And thanks a bunch for the reviews guys! Moar pleeze. I likez teh reviewz**

**Okay, back to normal English. **

**Tensei out!**


	18. Chapter 18: Eye to eye

_**Chapter 18 - Eye to eye**_

_I can't see..._

_I want to open my eyes, see light fill my vision, see my friends, maybe my family, the world I love, the person I love... But when I try to open my eyes, it's all in vain._

_Tensei..._

_That's my name right?_

_My full name, which I stopped Argo from telling Lisbeth, was Kano. Tensei Kano. I was trapped in SAO for over a year and a half. Or was it two? I can't tell. It feels like I've been living there forever. Like Aincrad was my home. How pathetic of me. I said on that day that I was going to live._

_But I died. Didn't I? _

_Now here was the main question I had to ask myself. If I was dead, why could I hear my own thoughts? Did dead people exist as ghosts and spirits?_

_No... I was no spirit. In fact, I was feeling something on my ribcage. Ghosts don't have rib cages. Something was lying on it... Shaking?_

_"...chan..."_

_Was that a voice? So familiar, as well... I focused as hard as I could on the voice, to hear what it was saying. _

_"It's been so long, Onii-chan... Why won't you wake up? You're wasting away... I don't want to leave you behind..." My chest felt wet, yet warm. "Wake up...! Please!"_

_The shock of realisation rocked my to my core. Onii-chan? Then... It couldn't be... Was I dreaming? Was this my mind making up a false reality?_

_The sobs got louder, then more ragged. Then... A door opened. Another voice, and I couldn't believe my ears when I heard this one, because... I knew this one just as well. A woman's voice._

_"Tess... It's late. We have to go back. I have work tomorrow, I can't be back too late."_

_"... M-mom..." The weaker voiced girl continued. "I-I know I shouldn't... But it's been so long... I miss him..."_

_I wanted to comfort her, but my hand wouldn't move. My eyelids wouldn't open. My voice didn't work._

_Nothing._

_It became worse. I heard a whirring in the object around my head. Surely... This was it. The microwave pulse that would kill me. And I couldn't move. I screamed at the top of my lungs, but made no sound._

_I'm sorry Mom._

_I'm sorry Tess._

_I'm sorry friends._

_I'm sorry Silica._

_I'm sorry._

_A flash of white light obscured my vision and I felt a nostalgic immersion._

_I'll be seeing you... _

_Or not..._

_..._

_..._

_..._

**9PM AST (Aincrad Standard Time)**

**Player Tensei has been revived.**

The notification popped up before my eyes, which I suddenly realised were open.

_What..._

It couldn't be true. Was it all really a lie? No! It didn't make sense! When someone died in SAO, they really died! That was how it was!

But my vision was returning, for sure. And it was... The dim lit cavern? What was going on? I really didn't get it. Even my hearing was returning.

"Ten...sei?"

The soft voice could only belong to one girl. A girl I knew very well, and had kissed twenty four hours ago.

Silica...

My mind cleared out, and I saw... Klein and Kirito standing over me, and Silica, who was kneeling by my side. I opened my mouth, trying to find the right words for the moment.

"...umm... Hi."

SLAP.

"...ow..." And the burn of the impact kicked in two seconds later. "Ow... Ow, ow ow ow, OWWW..."

Silica shook. Tears had leaked out of her cheeks, and had left tracks. But suddenly, she was giggling softly. Within seconds, the giggling rose into hysterical laughter.

So maybe 'hi' wasn't the best choice.

"Klein. Kirito." I looked at them both. "What happened back there?" Klein's answer was to grin sheepishly.

"We revived you using an item I got last Christmas." Kirito replied, as though it was the simplest thing in the world. "You get it by killing the boss, 'Nicolas the Renegade'."

"What?!" I yelled aloud. "How can such an amazing item exist?!"

"It's one use only... And it only works within ten seconds of someone's death." Klein explained. "Kirito gave it to me last Christmas."

"But... PoH! Where are the Laughing Coffin?!"

"We dragged them all outside and paralyzed them.." Kirito shrugged. "Opened a corridor crystal to 'The Army' headquarters, and they're going to be sentenced to life-long imprisonment, until the game is cleared."

"So... So..." I muttered, struggling to process the information. Before I could, I felt arms wrap around me, and Silica was there, hugging me.

"It means that everything's alright, Tensei!" She giggled, tears still refusing to stop falling. But this time, the salty dew on her eyelashes were not a mark of despair, but one of happiness. "This is your second chance! So don't waste it!"

I smiled, slowly. Surely. The comprehension dawned on my face.

I was alive.

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

"...I always knew we were closer to the real world than most of us imagine. But... What am I supposed to say?"

I looked to Silica, head still on my shoulder. I was reminded slightly of the night at the inn in Miche, where we sat together in exactly the same position.

It had been about two days since that moment, and I had spent the time, racked in guilt of making my sister worry so much.

Silica was silent for a moment, then spoke softly. "You're really close to your sister, aren't you?"

"Well... Yeah." I sighed, slumped over slightly. "At least, I was... After all this time, I can't be sure."

"Do you want to tell me about all this? I know you don't talk about your life much, but if it helps you get things of your chest..."

I stiffened. Talking about the real world was a taboo amongst most players, since it brought them away from the idea that this game was reality. But right now, I needed to tell someone about my problems. Maybe it would help me get back on track?

"...alright then." I sat back, and Silica's head fell onto my lap. She did so accidentally, and her entire face flushed beet red in an instant. I just chuckled and placed a hand on her forehead. Under normal circumstances, I guess I might have been embarrassed too. But my mind was already on my sister.

"My I lost my dad to a car crash when I was two, so I don't remember him much… Yeah, I can't remember him much now even if I tried. He was a foreigner, which is why my sister and I have blue eyes. That's also where her name came from: Tess. It's not a japanese name, because my dad suggested the name. He was never good at japanese names anyway... Whatever the case, my mom had to hold down two jobs to keep us in our shoes. So me and Tess were kind of... Most of my family. She got tired of having such a hard-to-pronounce name, so when we're in public, and among her friends, her name is Rena. We were close, growing up. She's one of the reasons I never stop fighting to get out of this world."

Silica was silent, then spoke up from my lap. "One of them?"

I smiled bitterly and looked down. "Well the rest of the reasons are pretty obvious, there's so much I haven't done... But..." I sighed, unwilling to voice my true opinion, scared of what that said about me. Eventually, I forced it out anyway.

"I sometimes scare myself when I think alone. Sometimes, I feel like there's no point trying to fight to get out of SAO. Not because its impossible, we've all proven that wrong. But really..." I paused, then steeled myself. "...I love this world. It's dangerous, but its exciting. So much more that the world we used to live in."

I had the impression that Silica was trying to find a way to convince me that life was better outside of SAO, but her words came short. Cue the bitter smile. "See what I mean? The real world was so constrained, boring, monotonous. Go to school everyday, feeling bored. Spend time alone, because I never understood friends, except for one other, who felt the same. Go back to the empty home I knew my whole life. My constant question was: Will something change eventually, doing this every day?"

Silica was completely silent as she gazed up at me. Eventually, she spoke up, but with a hint of buried fear. "So... You don't want to go back?"

I was silent. What was there to say? The only reasons I had I go back to were my family, and to get my friends to safety. I stared at the wooden log walls of my house.

"...I know it will all come to an end eventually. Whether I want to or not. And when it does..." I sighed, not sure whether the next sentence was the truth. "...I'll be happy."

There was a long silence, in which I didn't dare look downwards. What would Silica think of me now? Would she not like my ideas, maybe avoid me? At the same time, I felt mildly better, now that I had voiced out the thought cooped up inside of me for so long. Thoughts and frustration tended to build up, build pressure, then explode if not controlled. It was relieving to release some of the pent up steam.

I broke the silence softly. "...are you mad at me for thinking like that?"

No response.

I looked down, then sighed and smiled. The first real smile I had in days.

Silica was softly asleep, chest rising softly, then falling limp. Out of reaction, I brushed her hair aside gently. "Alright, I guess you've got a point." I whispered. "It is late, after all."

Her eyes jolted open again, then she flushed. "A-ah! I'm sorry! I must have fallen asleep in the silence!" She panicked.

"No, you're right. It's, what, one in the morning? We all need sleep." I raised an eyebrow. "You're welcome to take my bed, I have a spare." Not technically true, but she might be fooled if a grabbed a large sleeping bag.

"O-okay..." She stifled a yawn behind her hand. "Thanks again, Ten-kun..."

Again, I marveled at how much lighter my chest seemed to be after baring my soul.

_You know what? Maybe I should spill all my thoughts and fears to someone more often. _

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

This will probably sound REALLY silly, but I'll say it anyway. That night, I didn't dream. Instead, I woke up from a dreamless sleep, and immediately thought of mushrooms.

No, I wasn't high on drugs, nor had I been playing too many games involving an Italian red plumber.

You see, one of my favorite things me and Tess would do on weekends was to open up the fridge in the morning and eat the leftovers from the previous night. As one of my mom's two jobs was working in a restaurant, she often brought home leftovers for dinner. One of my favorites would be the simple mushroom dish. A few large mushroom, pan-seared in soya sauce, then seasoned. It was that simple, but so delicious, because the local Japanese produce was simply that fresh. I loved it.

I got up from my sleeping bag in the living room, and saw that it was still pretty early. According to my HUD overlay, (Heads-up display), it was 7:30 am, Aincrad standard time. Not too bad. I've slept later. And of course, I remembered why I was in a sleeping bag, and not my bed.

I left Silica in my room last night to get to sleep, and guiltily stewed over how tired I had made her, possibly by making her worry about me. I didn't dare shut the door on the way out, in case the clicking woke her up.

I took advantage of that now and silently opened the door. Thankfully, she was still asleep, hair let down from their twin tails. Perfect.

"What the-"

What looked like a large blue bird almost barreled into my face from the depths of the room. Just in time, I dodged and drew my head back, letting the thing fly out wildly.

My vision settled and I saw Pina the feathered dragon perch itself on my table! When the hell did the thing even get in here?

I tiptoed over and sat in front of it. It's ruby-red eyes regarded me warily, as though afraid I would attack. I smiled at it and carefully stroked it's icy-blue feathers. Soft, and light as air. It seemed to calm down at my touch, but I wasn't sure. Was this thing really an AI? It was so advanced and intelligent for one. Again, I made the point before, but no programming had told the pet to sacrifice it's life for it's owner. I couldn't help but whisper quietly to it, talk for a bit.

"You know, Pina, I still can't believe it was only a few days ago that Silica confessed to me." The dragon raised it's head, as though in recognition of it's owner's name.

"Yeah... Crazy isn't it?" I muttered. "I never expected to find love in a VRMMO. Hell, I thought it was impossible to fall in love here, about a year ago... But things change, huh?"

It was strangely comforting, talking about something that I couldn't say directly to Silica. "Hey, do me a favor, Pina. I'm not always around to protect her, I have the front lines to get to. But you are. You're there for her, and one day, I might not be around. Keep her safe, yeah?"

I almost caught a little twitch of it's head, as though it comprehended my every word. Did it? I didn't know. But I liked to think so.

"Hey, Ten-kun..."

I turned around quickly in reaction to the sudden interruption, but only found Silica directly behind me.

"Oh hey, Silica." I broke into a smile.

"Yeah... Erm... Sorry for taking your bed again?"

"Not like it's the first time." I looked up at her, then jerked my vision away immediately. I felt my face heating up very quickly, and I realized that my face was flushed. Could you blame me? Could it be she didn't even realize? Or maybe had forgotten?

Silica was wearing nothing but her underwear and bra.

"Eh...? Ten-kun, what's wrong, are you okay?" She squatted next to my form and put an arm around me. I felt my conscience squirm heavily as it tried to fight down the 'raging hormones teenage boy' side of me. And just when I thought the conscience was winning, and I mustered the courage to open my mouth and speak, Silica decided to take initiative and take my face between her hands, pulling my vision directly towards her.

"Ten-kun! Seriously, you don't look very well! Can you get sick in SAO? Is that it?" She said, worriedly. Jesus, it didn't make it any more helpful that her face, with her hair down, was the most adorable thing I'd ever seen, and due to the nature of the Internet, I'd seen a lot of cute things. Like cats. But Silica looked... Well, for the sake of younger readers, I'll avoid the details.

Eventually, I shut my eyes and forced the words out, and they probably sounded an octave higher than my normal voice, all in one breath. "Silica, that's very nice of you to worry about me, but you're not wearing much, so please put some clothes on!"

I opened my eyes to a view both terrible and adorable. Her face slowly turned red, as though being filled up with hot water, then the tears formed, and...

"KYAAAAA!"

SLAP.

SLAM.

_...Well that was fast._

I could practically hear Argo's voice in my head, quoting her favorite phrase: Well that escalated quickly. I didn't really like it but she did. When I thought about this moment, my first question had to be why I got slapped. It wasn't really my fault!

"...did I do something wrong, Pina?" I asked, bemused. The feathery dragon made a strange noise, between confusion and annoyance. It sounded like it didn't know either.

"Well... Maybe I should get breakfast done."

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

"I-Is this alright?"

"..."

_I think she's gonna be giving me the cold shoulder for a bit…_

Despite me trying my best, with the best ingredients I could find in storage, the hot mushroom soup I served up for breakfast didn't break the ice.

And there was a lot of ice.

"Eh… yeah… Okay then." I mopped up the bottom of my bowl with a bit of brown bread, then munched on it. "Look, much as I appreciate having you here, I do have to get to the front lines after this."

"...h-hmph!"

"...Okay then… You're welcome back here whenever you want. If I bail out on that promise that I'd join Kirito at the front lines today, he's probably gonna slap me, so I'm off."

Talk about awkward silences.

"Teleport: Pani!"

Blue light. I'd seen it a million times before, so nothing new there.

Unfortunately, the first thing I hear when I get down is an argument, coming from the inside of the village cave. From another mountain-house, a feminine NPC voice wafted out the window, singing a lullaby to her child. Hell, even I felt sleepy listening to it!

Pani was a place of huge pastures, where the town itself lived in the mountainous regions dotting the pastures. And guess where the villagers lived specifically?

In the mountains. And I mean IN the mountains.

That's right. Pani was the village hewn from the insides of the rocky hills. And in the largest one, a row was starting. It sounded like a boss meeting.

_Wait, shouldn't I be involved? Shit!_

I ran inside, hoping to sneak into the back when no one was looking. About ten seconds into my plan though…

"Tensei?"

"Gah! You almost scared the crap out of me, Klein!"

"Yeah… sorry." Klein scratched the back of his head, then lowered his voice again. "Kirito and the Vice leader of the Knights of Blood Oath are having a bit of a row up front about the field boss."

Field bosses were the bosses, as you might have guessed from the name, that were out in the field. They tended to either be side-quests, or guard the floor dungeons. If the boss was tough enough to have a meeting about, it was probably guarding the dungeon.

"Great." I groaned, then stopped. "Wait, Vice leader of… isn't that Asuna?"

"Yeah. The famous 'flash'." Klein grimaced. "Kirito's got a lot of experience, but I don't know what to think about his decisions at times like this."

"Why? What did he say?"

"The Vice Leader wanted to lure the boss into the NPC village, so that it will attack the NPCs, and we can take it out while it's distracted."

"I dunno about that…" I said uneasily. "Some NPCs have proper AI, I can see why he wouldn't like taking their lives."

"I dunno. It makes no difference how we do this, to me. I just want the damn boss dead." Klein shrugged.

"So let me guess… Kirito opposed that?"

"Yup."

I sighed, then focused in on the argument. It took a turn I didn't expect to hear.

"As Vice Leader of the Knights of Blood Oath, I command you. You will obey me." Asuna's voice rang out, sharper than ever.

"I'm a solo player. I don't follow orders." Kirito responded icily.

"You'll do what I tell you in order to clear the game!" Asuna slammed the rock table with her bare palms.

A few seconds of thick, cold silence, then…

"How about this, then, _Vice Commander?_" Kirito broke the silence, laying heavy emphasis on how little he respected her position in the KOB. "We'll have a duel. Single-strike mode. If I win, we'll find an alternative."

Single-strike mode was a duel mode where the first person to land a clean hit with their weapon won. The quickest duel method, almost like quick-on-the-draw, which was a similar duel mode that had ran the same concept, but only used ranged throwing weapons, such as pins, pellets and knives.

"You dare challenge my authority?" Asuna reared.

"No, I don't. But I will challenge you." Kirito's gaze sharpened, unfazed.

"Should we stop them before this turns into a bloodbath?" I asked Klein quietly, but he shook his head quietly.

"There's no stopping Kirito once he's set his mind on something. I'd like to see how it plays out." Klein replied, eyes sparkling.

_Great… This will be fun… not._

I wasn't happy with the thought of two of my friends duking it out, but if it solved the meeting…

"Very well." Asuna commanded, for everyone to hear. "If you will stand in the way of the game clearance, I will take you!"

_Oh boy…_

**T/N: Aaaand end! Don't worry, I'll tell you guys exactly what happens next chapter, I promise!**

**Wow, it's been a while! I had a little trip to New Zealand recently, so that delayed things for two weeks. Keep reading this note, because I've got a couple of announcements to make.**

**One, I compromised with my friend Yuki, I won't be doing the damn K-On thing. YES. THANK YOU. Sorry for those of you who were looking forward to it, I just hate the thing beyond meaning. But the compromise was that she, being the girl that she is, is in charge of the fluff side of my story. So if you see more of it, you know why. It would also explain the beginning of this chapter. T.T Still beats writing a K-On story. It's just a show about girls who drink tea and play on the beach! And are somehow better at guitar and drums than I am… o.o Without much practice.**

**Two, Times Ten is NOT an abandoned project, please don't mistake me! I'm a very strange writer. I work on Fanfictions the same way I work on songs and mixes. If I don't feel the inspiration or vibe to work on it, I will simply not work on it until I get that spark again. Right now, SAO is the current sparked fiction. I'll move back to Times Ten when I'm ready.**

**Three, my classes start in a couple of weeks, get ready for slower updates. And they're already REALLY slow, I know -.-**

**Four, I would like to ask you guys, even if you don't normally read the story review replies, to read the answer to the FIRST review. It involves the future of this fic. Partially.**

**OKAY THAT WAS LONG :D**

**Reviews Corner of REVIEWING-NESS.**

**Coolmon16: Okay, you said that Tensei SHOULD be moved into an ALO arc. Many reviewers said that I SHOULDN'T. So let me clarify things for all readers. I will be moving Tensei into ALO, but only as a couple of extra chapters. They will not take long, the chapters will probably feature a small part of the aftermath, and that's IT. I will not branch into a second full story involving it though. **

**BlazeShadow: I was surprised by the amount of people who thought that Tensei would be able to communicate with the dead, as though dead spirits were in a reserve of SAO. After long hours of research, I formed my own ideas of it. My idea with SAO's death system is that the NerveGear will shut down, then prepare the emission of Microwave radiation for 15 seconds. This gives a time period for players to be revived using the 10 second item, should someone possess it, and also gives time for the radiation to cool down in the last 5 seconds, should the player actually be revived, and the radiation left unneeded. During this time, the NerveGear is basically a proximity mine. Should someone on the outside touch the helmet, it will immediately release the microwave radiation, which is why the players movement is disabled, as you can see poor Tensei, stuck in a cage of his own body, unable to even twitch an eyelid up.**

**Amulet Misty: A few people have seen Argo's intentions, as I hoped. Stay tuned for more of Tensei naivety! xD. It somehow doesn't come as a surprise that you came from an all-girl's school, though you have my empathy. I wouldn't like to be in a single gender school myself. Takes the fun out of it. Hint Hint. xD**

**Water: Oh yeah. The reality is, Tensei, Kirito, Asuna and the entire cast, they're all teenagers. They have emotions, though some may be better at hiding it hinthintKiritoyouemotionlessfaggot, and I really wanted that to shine through.**

**I think that was everyone. WOW and yay for 759 word T/N. I should really wrap it up now.**

**Oh! For those of you who don't know, I have a youtube channel under my name, Tensei Kano, so yeah, shameless promotion.**

**And finally, I decided to be a bit more careful and put a disclaimer on my work again.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own SAO, it's cast, characters or any media types related or involved. Should entities file lawsuits against said names of Tensei Kano and/or any of his associates, he/she will be subject to having his/her soul ripped and punched by a car made of butter knives sourced from the iron mines of Minecraftia.**

**Tensei Out. :D**


	19. Chapter 19: Mountains and Molehills

_**Chapter 19 - Mountains and molehills**_

**60...59...58...**

I watched the holographic timer go down, both looking forward to and dreading the moment it hit zero. Kirito had a large, black blade that looked relatively new, but probably really heavy, pointed towards the ground.

**30...29...28...**

Asuna, on the other hand, held a thin, bright white rapier, handle emblazoned with red and white, the signature KOB colours.

**20...19...18...**

"I will teach you how important it is to clear this game, Black Swordsman!" Asuna announced.

"You'll see. This world is so much more than you know." Kirito replied, almost lazily. He couldn't fool me though. His eyes were wary, and I knew why. We both knew of Asuna's insane weapon speed, which was faster than my own, which was saying something. Even with two knives, my highest possible attack speed was five attacks per second, whereas hers was eight.

_When did they stop addressing each other politely anyway?_

**5...4...3...**

Grips tightened. Eyes sharpened. Stances taken.

**2...1...**

And to do the battle justice, I have to describe the battle in slow motion.

**STRIKE**

As the bright white word appeared, Asuna darted forward, rapier held forward, handle beside her head. Even with that heavy blade, Kirito sidestepped her effortlessly and swung into a roundhouse slash. Asuna's eyes widened, then narrowed, her own blade coming to the rescue and shearing the heavy black sword sideways, so that it was swung up into the air. Kirito had no choice but to twist around, displaying his back to her.

Asuna saw it as a chance and swung at his legs, but there was one more trick up Kirito's sleeve. His right foot, clad in the dragon-hide boot, came up, then back down, stamping directly on the blade, forcing it into the ground. Capitalizing on the opponent's shock, he elbowed Asuna straight to the face and followed it up with a heavy slash. With no weapon to defend herself, she could do nothing as the blade penetrated her light armour.

Complete silence rang as her HP went down, in one strike. The battle was settled in the space of 5 seconds.

**Asuna's HP: 78%**

**GAME SET**

**WINNER: Kirito**

"There. Now will you keep your word?" Kirito asked challengingly. Asuna gritted her teeth, and for a minute, I thought she wasn't going to. But the moment passed, and her jaw went limp.

"Yes. A promise is a promise. You win this time." Asuna conceded unwillingly.

"And every time after." Kirito chuckled. Asuna's ears turned a little red, but otherwise, she showed no signs of hearing the words.

"We'll find another way of defeating the monster." The girl announced to the crowd. "If anyone has a different idea, please let us know. Meeting dismissed!"

The crowd left murmuring about the event they had just witnessed. I didn't even bother talking to anyone, instead racing through the crowd, bashing into a couple of players, whispering hurried apologies, until I reached the black, cloaked swordsman.

"You two don't get along very well."

Kirito turned around sharply, then relaxed when he saw me speaking. "Ah, Tensei... Yeah. I guess we don't."

I grimaced a little. "You know where she's coming from though, right? It's not exactly a sin to want the game cleared. She's frustrated to be here."

"Yeah..." He shrugged. "I guess we just don't see eye to eye." He took on a different tone and looked at me. "Enough about me, how are you doing? Feeling any better?"

"Yeah. I don't even know what happened. Maybe my body in real life caught a bug." I lied. Kirito raised an eyebrow, but didn't question any further.

"On another note, what's up with the boss that's so bad? It's a field boss, right?" I asked. He shook his head fervently.

"The field boss is a tough one. The Geocrawler. It's sort of like a giant sand worm, if you will, with a taste for meat. Our last strategy was to lure it with an A grade piece of meat."

"So... Let me guess, it at the meat and burrowed into the ground in one go, huh?"

"Right in one." He grimaced. "Thing is, it spends so much time in the ground that we won't know where it will strike next. And by the time it does strike..." There was no need for him to continue.

"Right. I'll help find another method before Asuna slaughters you in your sleep." Before he even processed the implications of what I had said, I darted away.

_So... The Geocrawler huh?_

The thing with Sword Art Online was that, despite the overwhelming odds of death, the game was semi-fair. There was never a boss that was impossible to best, always some kind of strategy involved. Bait didn't work... Distractions? How was anyone supposed to distract something they couldn't see? How about pinning it into the ground? No... That wouldn't work...

I walked mindlessly through the NPC mountain village, nearing the teleport gate. As I did, I heard the female NPC voice from earlier, still singing a lullaby, most likely to a listening to it made me feel like I wanted to curl up and sleep...

Sleep... Sleep?

SLEEP!

My eyes popped wide awake, and I searched for the source of the lullaby. Eventually, I heard the soft, sweet song coming from a large hill on my left.

"Short steps... Deep breath... Everything is alright..."*

I found a round door, almost like a hobbit hole from a certain classic book I used to read as a child. I carefully opened the door, which swung noiselessly on its hinges.

"Chin up... I can't... Step into the spotlight..."

Definitely this house. I shut the door behind me and walked quietly down the wooden tunnel. Yes, wooden. The 'cave' was so well furnished, with polished wood walls and brass ornaments, you could barely tell it was a cave.

"She said... 'I'm sad'... Somehow without any words..."

The soft voice carried throughout the whole house, echoing gently off the walls and enticed me to follow it to the source: the living room. What greeted my eyes was not a mother looking after her child, but instead, a teenage girl in a pure white dress, slightly older than me, yet shorter, with sleek, black hair, singing softly to a silently sleeping infant on a large, mattress-like bedding.

"I just... Stood there... Searching for an answer..."

I couldn't help but lean against the wooden frame of the doorway and listen. Probably because she was an NPC, but her voice was flawless. Soft, lyrical and melodic.

"When this world is no more... The moon is all we'll see... I'll ask you to fly away with me..." She turned a little, then noticed my presence. I gave a little wave, but she got up, still singing softly, and put a finger to her lips, then pointed at the sleeping toddler on the bed. The NPC girl came closer and gently took my hand.

_Eh..._

Cue SAO's exaggerated emotion system, as I felt heat rise to my face. The NPC, however, had no such reaction, and gently guided me through the doorway, still singing.

"Till the stars all fall down... They empty from the sky... But I don't mind..." A little smile playing on her lips now. "If you're with me, then everything's alright..."

With that, she silently shut the door behind her, then let go of my hand, for which I was grateful. It wasn't technically cheating on Silica, right? This was an NPC, after all! Not even an AI!

"I'm sorry about that." The girl intoned. It was clear these lines were pre-programmed into her response list. "I had to make sure the child was still asleep, or I'd be out of the job for sure!" She stopped and looked at me with a radiant smile. Too perfect. "My name is Ruri, child caretaker. What can I do for you?"

I had to think about how to phrase my next words clearly, or the NPC wouldn't understand what I was asking. "Do you know what the Geocrawler is?" The girl tilted her head.

"I'm not sure I understand. "My name is Ruri, child caretaker. What can I do for you?"

_Dammit... I have to ask a certain question in her response list, or she won't respond properly..._

"Umm... Are monsters affected by your song?" I asked, getting warmer to what I really wanted from her. But she tilted her head, and...

"I'm not sure I understand. "My name is Ruri, child caretaker. What can I do for you?"

"Alright... How about this... Tell me about that song." I guessed randomly.

She didn't tilt her head this time, but gave a timid smile. "Ah, well, this lullaby is something my mom used to sing me. She used to sing it well, but when I started singing it, she said that my voice completed the song, it was that good!" She puffed out her chest proudly. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I can manage putting anything to sleep with that song! Children, adults, even my pet cat! I'm pretty proud of it! If you like, I can offer you my services."

_Jackpot!_

"Yes, that would be great!" I blurted out. Ruri nodded happily, but as soon as she did, a holographic window appeared in front of my face.

**Ruri (caretaker) would like to join your party!**

That was how NPCs were bound to quests. They would join parties with players, which would be revoked it the NPC in question was killed. The NPCs were never really in danger, as they re-spawned when killed. I clicked the accept button, and the deal was complete.

"Great!" Ruri smiled again, that perfect smile, too much so to be natural. "When you want me to sing, just say the word!"

Feeling elated that I finally had good news to tell Asuna, which might save Kirito's ass from being kicked, I opened the door, back out to the large meadows. I found Klein standing with his guild, talking to a large man that I hadn't seen in a while, Dale.

"Hey, Klein!"

"Oh, Tensei, what's up?" Klein smiled, then looked curiously behind me. Before I could answer, he asked, "Who's this chick?"

"Our ticket past the field boss." I grinned confidently. I was about to explain this NPC's role in the situation, when Klein had already skipped past me and confronted the girl.

"Wow, you're really cute!"

I groaned. "Klein, you idiot, she's an NPC! She-"

Ruri's face transformed from happy to stern in a second flat. "I don't know you. If you want to flirt, go somewhere else."

Silence. For about 5 seconds. Then Ruri's face changed back to her normal, carefree self.

"...he... Hehe.." I couldn't stifle my laugh. But I didn't have to, because Dale himself burst out laughing, much to Klein's horror.

"BAHAHAHAHAHA! Klein, man, did you just get shot down... By an NPC girl?!" Klein had no response to this, as he proceeded to slump down, self-pride shooting below negative values.

"Kayaba Akihiko clearly had a sense of humour, to program a girl to reject romantic advances." I remarked in my most posh, sarcastic voice.

"Like hell that's funny!" Klein roared. "What kind of sick joke-"

"What's going on here?"

I turned around and found Asuna standing behind me. "Ah, Asuna! Perfect timing!" I smiled, Klein's value as a man being pushed out of my head instantly. "I found a strategy that will... Probably work against the Geocrawler!"

Asuna's eyes widened, then narrowed. "Tell me about this strategy."

I looped my arm around Ruri's shoulders and pulled her forward. "This NPC girl can sing a lullaby that will put anything to sleep. Even monsters. I'm willing to bet it will work on the field boss."

As if on cue, Ruri turned to me. "What's up, Tensei? Do you want me to sing now?"

"No." Asuna beat me to it firmly. "We don't need to fall asleep in the middle of a village." But Ruri didn't even hear her response. She continued to gaze at me.

"No, Ruri." I insisted. The girl smiled radiantly at me.

"Okay, when you want me to sing, just say the word!"

_...NPCs with set responses kinda freak me out sometimes…_

"Alright… This had better work." Asuna muttered to herself. "Tensei, get prepped. I'll spread the word, and we'll have an attack force ready in fifteen minutes. The meeting spot is the north gate, so make sure you're there."

"What, now?" I responded, taken aback. So quickly?

"No, next year." Asuna shot back harshly, then stalked off.

"...Jesus…" I grumbled to Klein. "When did she get so harsh?"

No response.

I looked at Klein, who was still on the ground, face literally planted in the grass. I chuckled a little, then turned to Dale. "Get him up when his self-esteem is back to normal. I'll go spread the word." He nodded at me briefly, then opened up a message window and began texting several Fuurinkazan members.

"Alright, let's go!" I said, mostly to myself. I hadn't had any action in days, and I was pumped to get back into the thick of it.

"What's up, Tensei? Do you want me to sing now?"

"No! Just follow me!"

"Okay, when you want me to sing, just say the word!"

"..."

o===={::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-

"Forward!"

That seemed to be the general battle cry amongst this crowd. There was a feeling of anticipation, almost relief, that someone had a battle plan against this boss. Apparently, this field boss had been stumping them for 6 days now. 6 days was the average clear time for an entire floor, so I could imagine their frustration, not even managing to get into the floor dungeon in this time.

Even as I lead the charge, Ruri in tow, I heard a voice from beside me. "So is this girl our new strategy, or your new girlfriend?"

"Kirito." I growled. The swordsman clad in black laughed.

"I'm just kidding, I can see she's an NPC, and I heard what she can do." Kirito chuckled. "I did have to say that though, that was pretty fun."

"Sure." I deadpanned. "I just hope this works, or we might lose an arm."

The terrain became more rugged, with the meadows turning into an almost savannah-like setting. Grass became scarce, long and dry. Eventually, we came up to a large mountain.

"Only one way to find out." Kirito clapped my shoulder. I tried to smile, but I'm not sure what really came out.

Eventually, we came to a large cave entrance that les into a massive mountain that seemingly lead up into the sky.

Before we even got there, the grey-haired Heathcliff signaled a stop. Asuna, too, raised her right hand in a fist.

"Alert, troops! The Geocrawler will appear any second-"

BOOM.

The ground in front of us was thrown upwards, spraying us with debris. The giant worm came into view, screeching at us, displaying several lays of needle sharp teeth, all pointing inwards. There was only a mouth, no eyes or face.

I gasped, then turned to the NPC girl behind me. She was perfectly unperturbed by the whole scenario, and smiled at me gently when I looked at her.

"What's up, Tensei? Do you want me to sing now?" Ruri asked.

"Yes!" I nodded vigorously.

"Okay then... Prepare to be amazed!" The girl stood back, put her hands on her chest, and began to sing.

_Why do... My words_

_Always lose their meaning?_

_What I feel, what I say,_

_There's such a rift between them._

The soft voice emanated around the surrounding field, and the Geocrawler paused, as though simply curious about this soft, lyrical tune coming from the girl, then lowered itself slowly to the ground. Asuna's eyes widened, and I mouthed to her the words: It's working.

_He said: I can't_

_Really seem to read you._

_I just... Stood there,_

_Never know what I should do..._

A small pause, and I fearfully noticed the Geocrawler raising it's head again. But before anything else happened, Ruri continued her song, and the head was lowered once again.

But that was only half my thoughts. Another half of my mind was following the song's words... Or was it my heart? Something twinged in me. This song was so relatable to my life, the life I once knew.

_When this world is no more, _

_The moon is all we'll see..._

_I'll ask you to fly away with me..._

_When the stars all fall down,_

_They empty from the sky,_

_But I don't mind._

The worm was now almost motionless, lying on the ground. Just to be sure, I waited for Ruri to finish. To my surprise, the same actions as before. She took my hand gently, then smiled again.

_If you're with me,_

_then everything's alright._

She took a deep breath, then smiled at me. "Well... What did you think?"

I motioned to Asuna and pointed towards the creature on the found. She nodded, then drew her rapier and signaled the rest to follow. I then turned back to the NPC girl in front of me.

"That was the best I've heard anyone ever sing. That was just... Awesome."

Ruri's reaction was more than I expected of an NPC. A tear literally came to her eye, and she grabbed me and hugged me. "That was the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me! Thank you so much!" She pulled away and beamed. "If you ever need my services again, just come by, alright?"

"Sure. Thanks for helping." I smiled gently. With that, the girl ran away, in the direction of the town of Pani.

I shook myself from my thoughts, and turned. The Geocrawler was just beginning to rouse, but it was clearly Po late, it's lone health bar already sinking into the red as Asuna, Kirito, Heathcliff and the Fuurinkazan hacked at it mercilessly. In another five seconds, the boss turned white, then burst into polygonal shards.

Silence, then a huge cheer. That must have been the easiest boss battle we'd ever faced. No tactics, no huge defence required, just a lullaby, and then a team effort in killing the worm before it roused.

I smiled to myself, then turned, only to find Klein within four inches of my face.

"GAH! What's up with you?" I yelped.

"Why... WHY DO YOU ALWAYS GET ALL THE ACTION?" Klein yelled.

"Action? I didn't even get a shot off on that boss!"

"That's not what I meant, man! I mean you! First you get to safe that cute girl, Silica, from PKers, then you get a cute NPC to hug you! What kind of- OOF."

Klein wouldn't have made that sound normally, but my foot clearly made the decision to shut him up for me, because it flung itself into a most painful body part, effectively quietening him from any eavesdropping bystanders.

"You clearly have to get a girlfriend, Klein." I sighed. "You're getting a little too desperate to be sane. Then again, I don't think any girl would be same enough to be with you."

"Oi... That hurts... Both my pride and my crotch." He groaned from the ground.

"I know." I shrugged, then took a teleport crystal out of my inventory. "Now that's enough crap for today. I'm going home."

_...That song... I need to remember it._

**T/N: Aaand cut! That's a wrap everyone! High five, Ruri! Good job, Kirito! Klein, you're still forever alone.**

**Well, that wraps up another chapter of IGTL! This one was pumped out really quickly, all under the fact that I read the SAO wiki and found there was an NPC called Ruri who was supposed to sing the Geocrawler to sleep. Everything else was kinda my own imagination, so if I got details wrong, sorry. Put down your pitch fork.**

**If you wanna know what Ruri is supposed to look like, think of a 16 year old Yui, with freckles. Yep, it takes a little imagination.**

***Song is "Everything's alright - Kan Gao ft. Laura Shigihara." I strongly suggest you listen to it, it's part of an game pat called To the Moon, brilliant song, better game. It's so good, I didn't want to make a fanfiction out of it, for fear I would spoil it. Go search it up. Please.**

**There will be a time skip next chapter, skipping just past episode eight. Gimme a break, I already have ideas for the end of the story, I don't want to be stuck in the beginning forever! XD**

**I was actually pretty sad at the review rate this time, very few familiar faces in the review section. But hey, maybe the normal guys/ girls are busy! Looking at you, BlazeShadow, Amulet Misty, Atrile. XD**

**Review corner!**

**Forscythe - Yeah, man. Great to see you again. Thanks for the feedback. I dunno, the second arc of SAO was just so bad for me that I guess some people just think "oh! This writer could save it!" But several people have commuted how they think Tensei could finish up nicely after SAO, and frankly speaking, I think they're right. Glad I managed to sucker you into seeing Silica in a new light! You'll be seeing more of her ;D as I mentioned before, my friend Yuki is officially I'm charge of the fluff, and she's basically the girl behind Silica at the moment. She gives me that attitude and ideas, I write it out. Good team, of you ask me :D**

**Satoru Tomaki - As far as I'm concerned, I really don't want to add more OCs into the story. I was thinking of adding you in at the extra ALO chapter, but I'm afraid I already have a character that basically has your mentioned skills and abilities. Sorry. Though, if you like, I will review your story to help you improve, because, no offense, it needs work. So I'll be dropping by soon to help you, until then, good luck. P.S. thank Yuki for Silica. XD**

**Water - err, I'll pretend to understand. If you mean Kirito's "I don't challenge your authority, but I do challenge you" line, then thanks :)**

**Well, done for now! Let's leave you guys with a little taster to leave you hungry or more! **

_**PREVIEW**_

I was pretty happy with Lisbeth's little gift. After all, I did say a few weeks ago that I wanted to remember Ruri's song. Now, I could just play it myself!

But something decided to interrupt my moment of happiness.

"Ka-bou..."

I turned around, then met the mousy-haired girl under the cloak. "Argo! It's been a while, how have you been?"

"Eh... Alright, I guess..." She despondently kicked the ground at her feet. "Look. Can we talk? Please?"

"Sure... What about? If you want info, you could have just messaged me-"

"It's not about info." She interrupted. I looked at her in surprise. "Can we please sit down over there? This might be a while..." She gestured to the bench near the fountain.

I don't know why, but it was that moment that I felt a pang of worry kick in solid, like a nail hammered into my gut.

My instincts were rarely wrong, after all.

_**END PREVIEW**_

**Well, that's all for now! Shout out to Forscythe's fanfic of "Just One Last Time", a much more concise one than my dragged out story! Oh, and another one for Lady Shisou's fanfic, "The Black Swordsman". It features Silica in it's latest chapter, which I'm pretty happy about. Go to her and review it! Tell her Tensei sent you! XD**

**Reviews are really appreciated! They're like writer's fuel! And I'm running low!**

**Tensei out!**


	20. Chapter 20: Argo's courage

**T/N: Before we begin, this chapter has a lot of thinking and self reflection. It will all be done in Italics. **_**Like this. Got it?  
Good. Let's roll.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 20 - Argo's courage**_

_Hey... So... How've you been?_

_...Yeah, I'll cut the crap._

_Today's been a huge emotional roller coaster... And at the end of it all, hell I'm not sexist, but I have to say I've had enough of girls for one day._

_And I'm not one to keep a diary, in fact, today is the first time I'm using the memo function. Heck, I didn't even know there was a memo function in SAO. Apparently, Silica knew from the beginning, even though she refuses to let me read hers. But since there is, I thought I'd jot down whatever I need to._

_So... Argo came up to me on the way home, and asked to talk to me today..._

* * *

"There we go, Ten. Secret edges upgraded!" Lisbeth beamed, handing me my two knives. I nodded gratefully.

"Thanks again Liz. What does that make it, 13 straight upgrades? You're on a roll!

"Of course! Did you expect anything less from me?" She puffed out her chest in pride.

"I guess not." I chuckled. "I'm sure your new blacksmith hammer had nothing to do with it."

"Oi, what do you mean by that?" Lisbeth questioned icily. Before I could answer, a ringing sound came from above me somewhere, and I found the message icon blinking.

"Saved by the bell." I sighed, pretending to be relieved, before opening the message.

**Message from:** Kirito

**Subject: **Favour (Again)

**Recipient: **Tensei

Hey, if you're on the lower floors, could you do me a favour and grab some black leather for me? My cloak is running low on durability, and I need materials to fix it. Thanks.

"Who was it?" Lisbeth asked.

"Nah, it's just Kirito, asking for some black leather. Looks like his cloak is about to break.

No response.

I closed the message window and looked at Lisbeth, who, surprisingly, had turned away and turned red.

"Erm... Was it something I said?"

"N-nothing!" She stammered, fiercely shaking her head.

I've only seen one other girl act like that, and that was Silica, on the day of the Titan's hand incident.

"Riiiight." I faked understanding. "Nothing. I'm sure Kirito had nothing to do with it."

"B-be quiet!" She responded.

I grinned and dropped the matter, then looked down at my knives, when I noticed something.

"Hey... Lisbeth, didn't these knives used to be slightly greenish?"

"Uh... I think so... Why?"

I lifted both knives by the blade. They retained their slightly-translucent properties, but were now completely colorless.

"Weird... Hey, the upgrade did work, right?" I looked at Lisbeth.

"Oi... That's insulting you know." Lisbeth's voice took that same icy tone.

"Well, continue feeling insulted until I find out what's with these knives then." I absentmindedly fingered the knives, then gripped them by the handles. The moment I did, the blades turned back to their tinted light green.

"Oh, hey, what do you know, they're back." I deadpanned. "Now what the hell was that?"

"Dunno." Lisbeth muttered, looking at the knives and forgetting to feel insulted. After about a minute of inspection, she shrugged. "Well, anyway, I've got a surprise for you!" She suddenly turned around and smiled at me. "I raised my craftsmanship skill to 250 the other day, which is a big thing for me, since almost all of my points go into my smithing skill... And a whole new bunch of things showed up on the list of things I could make! So, I have something for you..." She spun round and walked into the back, before I could even respond.

I don't mean to be an ass, but I have to be honest, I wasn't expecting much. Lisbeth's shop was around the 48th floor in the town of Lindus, and I was pretty sure she'd never traveled above my home floor, the 54th. But again, and not for the last time, she came out and surprised me.

"Ta-da!" Lisbeth sang, holding a beautifully familiar, wooden instrument. A musical instrument, to be precise. It was large, long and stringed with 6 shiny strings.

"Here you go! It's an ACOUSTIC GUITAR. Should be tuned about right! Well… Maybe not, but close enough!" With that, she tossed it at me, and I instinctively caught it by the neck, then examined it in wonder.

It sounds stupid to be wonderstruck by a wooden instrument, but this was one of the things that I hadn't seen since I entered the death game. Yet another hobby that had to be filled by the monotonous killing and grinding of everyday front-line clearing. And when your life turns into a huge amount of dodge, kill, repeat, little things like hobbies and friends are all you can cling on to. The reality was, as a frontline solo player, I had precious few friends, compared to some others, who had as many real friends as one might have on a social media site. And that was a staggering number.

"T-thank you so much, Lisbeth!" I couldn't help stammering, filled with glee. "How much will it be?"

"You're an idiot." Lisbeth responded.

"I'm sorry, I don't have that kind of currency." I quipped back.

"Gah! You never let me have the last say, do you?" Lisbeth growled. "It's a gift! Yours! Free of charge!" I opened my mouth to protest, but then stopped when I saw a steely glint of a mace in her hand.

"Right. I think I'll take the guitar, thank you."

"Smart boy."

_A bit rich of her to be calling me 'boy' when we're about the same age… I think?_

"Well, anyway, thanks for the upgrade, once again, Liz."

"You're welcome." She smiled serenely.

"I'll send Kirito your love."

"S-SHUT UP!"

A vase went flying over my head, signalling my cue to go. I was normally pretty calm, wearing a neutral expression, but today, I couldn't keep the grin off my face. I had to admit, I was pretty happy with Lisbeth's little gift. After all, I did say a few weeks ago that I wanted to remember Ruri's song. Now, I could just play it myself!

But something decided to interrupt my moment of happiness.

"Ka-bou..."

I turned around, then met the mousy-haired girl under the cloak. "Argo! It's been a while, how have you been?"

"Eh... Alright, I guess..." She despondently kicked the ground at her feet. "Look. Can we talk? Please?"

"Sure... What about? If you want info, you could have just messaged me-"

"It's not about info." She interrupted. I looked at her in surprise. "Can we please sit down over there? This might be a while..." She gestured to the bench near the fountain.

I don't know why, but it was that moment that I felt a pang of worry kick in solid, like a nail hammered into my gut. My instincts were rarely wrong, after all.

We sat down on the bench and I waited for her to start. She seemed to breath in and out, steeling herself to do whatever she was about to do. Eventually, she gritted her teeth and faced me.

"If you don't mind… just for today… I need you to talk to me with my real name."

"Er…your real name?" I echoed.

"Yes."

"So… Yuri…?" Instantly, Argo… or should I say Yuri? She flinched at the sound of her own name. It must have been important, whatever this conversation was about, for her to ask me to talk to her with her real name.

Argo's real name was Yuri Kunikida. Outside of SAO, she was much quieter than most, and that clearly still showed from time to time online. She tended to take a more confident, darker approach with people who didn't know her well, but no one can truly bury their personality, only change it, and even when they do, snippets of their former nature tend to rise to the fore every now and again.

"Yuri, something wrong?" She squirmed at my question. "Uhh... Let me rephrase that. Yuri, what's wrong?" Argo steeled herself and opened her mouth, and I expected a statement that would turn my world on its head...

"Have you ever had a crush on anyone?"

_...Whut._

It was such a random question, it took me a moment to remember the truth. How strange it felt, even now, to reach back into the other world for memories. Some days, it felt like I'd grown up in Aincrad. Others, I couldn't wait to get out of it.

"Well... Once. In like... 7th grade? I never really did anything though. The girl just kinda... Kept going and thought we were best friends." I smiled, looking back at those memories.

"...so you just let it pass? Just like that?" Argo faced me, filled with a strange mix of confusion, admiration and disappointment. I nodded slowly. "How?"

"How? How did I let it pass and do nothing?" I clarified. She nodded. "Well... It wasn't easy... I kept telling myself that I did things to help her notice me, but in the end, she only thought I was doing what friends do."

Argo nodded, then stopped. "Wait a second... Seventh grade? I thought WE were best friends in seventh grade!" She was unable to keep an accusatory tone out of her voice.

"Yeah. I thought we were too." I smiled. Argo stared at me, hurt by the revelation that I never told her about this other girl I was best friends with. I'm sure she was thinking how I could smile so easily when revealing something so hurtful. But just like I knew she would... She calmed down enough to ask questions. It had been a while since the last time her questions were not based on information gathering.

"So... What was this girl like?" Her voice was one of forced calm.

"Cute, but shy. Quiet. Had one other friend other than me, who was another girl altogether. She told that other friend everything that she didn't tell me. Wasn't too bad, we were still best friends till the end, and I told myself that she wasn't noticing me, so I might as well move on. About 8th grade, halfway through the year, I dropped the crush. It just kinda clicked that it wasn't going to work."

"Best friends till the end? What, SAO was the end?" Argo questioned. If it was any other girl, I would have stopped talking. But inside, I needed to tell someone the truth. And Yuri Kunikida was the person to tell it to.

"Well, that's the odd thing, Yuri. Anyone would expect that I couldn't keep contact once we were isolated in a death game. But we keep contact, and we're still friends now."

Argo looked up at me in surprise. "The girl was trapped in SAO as well?"

I snorted. "Forget trapped in SAO, she was in the Beta test with me."

Argo stared at me, her brave front starting to show leaks and cracks. "...you never told me any of this... Who is this girl? Is it Silica?"

"Trust me, if Silica was in the beta test, I'd be a lot less worried for her than I am now." I put my palms convulsively down on my lap. "Don't you get it Yuri? You know this girl better than anyone."

"What are you..." Argo stopped. Then stared at me with wide eyes.

"It was you. It was always you." I sighed. "When I realized that you didn't see me the same way I did for you, I just kinda gave up."

I expected Argo to be typically confused, then maybe apologize for not noticing. She didn't have to, but she always jumped the gun on apologies. What actually came out was very different.

"N-no... This is too much..." She put her head in her hands and moaned. "This is... Are you telling me... If only if been half a year earlier... I would have...?" I was a little confused now.

"Ka-bou... No. Tensei." She corrected. I raised my eyebrow. Was the change in honorific supposed to mean she was taking me seriously now? "I wanted to tell you something today when I came here, because I had a crush on... A boy, and I'm having trouble putting him out of my mind. I can't move past him, I won't!" She faced me and looked me in the eye. Unlike me, there was no beating around the bush, and I knew what she was about to say, half a second before she was about to say it. Her face was slowly turning red, but she held her gaze.

"I like you, Tensei!"

…_!_

It was the first time I ever heard those words. Silica wasn't quite as good with words, and took a more direct approach. So it really was a shock to hear those words.

"I-I started liking you around the 9th grade... And... A year later, we got into the beta test together, and I was so happy! I thought, finally, we had a common place we could meet up every day and get together! But then SAO became more than just a game... then you became a solo player, and I could almost never find you... and... and it's so damned frustrating!"

The bench we sat on was a typical wooden one, with armrests on both sides. I found myself backed up against one of the armrests, yet Argo... No, Yuri was only a few centimeters from my face. Argo realized this, then flushed and backed down.

"S-sorry... But Ka-bou, please think about it for a second. It was so annoying for me... When I gathered enough information, I realized everything that had happened. It was so frustrating... I knew you since seventh grade and l-liked you since the ninth, and then this girl! This cute, twin-tailed girl waltzes into the scene and takes you away! How am I supposed to react to that?!" There was no hiding emotions now, tears began to form in her eyelashes, and they sparkled in the light of the setting sun.

"Yuri..." I was so confused with what to do next. The young boy inside of me entertained the notion of accepting Argo's crush, since I used to have one on her as well. But that would be going against all the walls I built up against my old crush. Could I do it? And even if I did, what would become of Silica.

Argo stood up suddenly. "I've said my piece, T-... Ka-bou." She said stiffly. "It was all I wanted to say. In the end... It's up to you what you do. Silica or me." She took out a teleport crystal, even though we were already in a town. I raised my hand to stop her, then lowered it again.

"Teleport: Maogen ."

She disappeared in a shroud of blue light.

I sat back on the bench, then sighed deeply, as though releasing a valve of gas building up in me.

My mind should have been racing. It really should have been, and my thoughts and emotions whirling in my head. But the reality was, I felt nothing. My mind was blank, and didn't even echo the conversation I'd just had. I was a blank slate, as far as the world was concerned. Dead to the world.

_Okay... This is... Bad._

* * *

My house felt bigger than ever.

Well, that wasn't quite the words for it. It was suddenly feeling more... Spacious? Large? Free? It took me awhile to realize that I felt my house was much emptier than it used to be. I leaned against the wall and sighed, then flipped out my menus, scrolling through them listlessly. Eventually, I opened out my inventory and pulled out the guitar.

It materialized before my eyes. It seemed impossible that it was only a few hours ago that I was almost jumping with joy for this wooden object. I lifted my fingers to it now, and tapped it. Instantly, a holographic menu came up.

**Acoustic guitar**

Automatic (For beginners)

Manual (For the experienced)

I mindlessly picked the manual option, and instantly, the holographic menus all disappeared, leaving me with the guitar. My first attempt was to pick a more difficult riff, and tried to play off a complicated tenth-bass-styled tune. To my surprise, I hadn't lost my touch, and despite a few fingering mistakes, I managed to play it perfectly.

There was no satisfaction.

I breathed deeply through my nostrils, then placed the guitar against the wall. So much for a hobby. It seemed hobbies didn't do well in times of listless anxiety.

So many things of the past made sense now, looking at it in a less naive light. Argo's behavior was never abnormal, I just never realized the true nature of her actions and reactions. Even on the day where Silica was kidnapped by PoH.

"_Alright... I'll give you the map data. But you have to come back alive. Got it?"_

_I didn't give it much thought, given the seriousness of the situation, but as I teleported away, Argo looked shocked, and almost hurt._

"_Tensei... why are you after them?"_

_And of course, all the way back to the day I went to get the materials for my Secret Edges… She dragged Lisbeth behind the corner and talked to her…_

"_You must be really nice to her in real life, Tensei-kun, she likes you a lot." _

_Even as far as back then, everything made sense now. Somehow, I'd never seen it. Maybe the vestiges of my own crush made me think that I was only hoping for her to like me. My own naïveté was hurting her, so badly. Ninth grade was a year ago. Me and her both hit tenth grade before SAO. I'd made her suffer for so long. And I knew how terrible it felt not to get any of the attention that one hoped for._

_I wasn't expecting her to divulge feelings for me, of all people. I expected the conversation to go in the direction of her own crush on someone else. So I told her of my past crush. On none other than her. If I had known who her own crush was, I wouldn't have gone off on that anecdote of the past._

_Terrible decisions? Clearly. But now, what was I supposed to do? I had two very loving, very loyal girls who both wanted me. How was I to compromise? How would I know who I liked more, and what would I do with the other? _

_Tess... You'd know what to do... You always did. I wish you were here to help... Well, no, I don't. I wouldn't wish SAO onto anyone, let alone my sister._

_What do these girls see in me anyway? I really wanna know that._

_Okay, that was kind of besides the point, I know. But really, all I ever wanted in both of them was two good friends. And it turned into... this mess._

I continued to flip through my menu, until I discovered a memo section. It seemed appropriate right now, and unopened it up and began to type.

A jingle of bells rang in my ears, and I looked up. Message? Now? Oh alright...

I tapped the message, and it opened up.

**Message from:** Klein

**Subject: **URGENT - TLC leader

Recipient: Tensei

The leader of the Laughing Coffin escaped, indicating that player PoH attacked a jail mate to attract attention, then attacked the guard when he came to investigate. The Army released minimal details, but it's clear he escaped, a couple of days ago. WATCH OUT FOR HIM. YOU'RE THE REASON HE WENT TO JAIL, HE MIGHT COME AFTER YOU. DO NOT PLAY THE HERO ON ME. If there are any plans made against him, TELL US before you do anything stupid.

PoH..?! He was out and about... Causing more pain and destruction? And he would be after me next... I had to warn my friends! He used Silica against me last time, there was no reason he wouldn't do it again. I had to warn everyone that wasn't in the know!

**Message from: **Tensei

**Subject:** URGENT - STAY SAFE

**Recipient: **Kirito, Silica, Agil, Argo

The PK guild leader escaped from jail. Watch out guys. He used my friends against me before, no reason for him not to do it again. Please respond, so I know you're safe.

I waited a few minutes. Hopefully, they weren't asleep yet...it was, what, 10:45pm, some were bound to-

Ring!

I opened up the message instantly, and just as I did, a second chime indicated a second message.

**Message from: **Kirito

**Subject: **RE - STAY SAFE

**Recipient: **Tensei

Noted. I can take care of myself.

I laughed weakly at Kirito's cool head. It made sense that he would be the only one among us who wasn't scared of the PK guild. But when they wanted something done, they would get it done through any means necessary. Next message...

**Message from: **Silica

**Subject: **RE - STAY SAFE

**Recipient: **Tensei

Okay, thanks for the heads up, I'll stay indoors tonight.

I had the sneaking suspicion that Silica was half asleep when she typed that. Now that just left Argo. No way she would be asleep... She was always one to sleep by midnight, of course she'd be awake...

Ring!

**Message from:** Argo

**Subject:** RE - STAY SAFE

**Recipient: **Tensei

Miss me, boy?  
Same time, same place. It ends now.

...!

"No...!" I gasped. My heart was pounding in my throat, and I read the message a second time. A third.

"No... No no NO!"

That memo was one that would never be completed.

* * *

**T/N - Well, there's a week before class starts, so I thought I'd pump these ideas out. ****I'm very afraid you guys won't like the next chapter.**

**Oh! And I FINALLY figured out how to use these horizontal line seperators! So goodbye Sword seperator!**

**Or do you guys prefer the old one? Let me know!**

**Reviews**

**Water - Oh don't get me wrong, I like ALO and it's idea, but I just think the story would wrap up nicely without it, so its just... Extra chapters. The duel actually happened, but they isn't put it in the TV series for whatever reason.**

**Atsirk Enoh - Glad you like the NPC! I put a lot more into her than I needed to though.**

**Blaze Shadow - Somehow, I expected that you were off somewhere, recharging the sun with the energy generated from your awesome. Naturally, it wouldn't take long. Hopefully you're not too far in space when you're reading this, glad you like my idea of NPC integration, and yes, Silica tends to be a bit of a klutz, so too bad on her for getting into that one. That one actually came from, believe it or not, the girl behind Silica herself, Yuki. I ran into a similar situation with her IRL once, and she still hasn't forgiven me D:**

**PChesire - Probably a heads up, I'm not much of a Harem guy, so it's probably not gonna end up like that.**

**By the time you read the next chapter, I hope your pitchforks aren't sharpened too much -.-**

* * *

_**PREVIEW**_

"I didn't expect you to get here so quickly." PoH remarked.

"Where is she?" I growled, blood pounding in my ears.

"You'll find out soon." He grinned evilly. "Or not."

...

"She was easily subdued. Pathetic. I hoped you would put up a better fight than her." He taunted.

Something snapped within me at that second.

**"NEVER -INSULT - YURI - KUNIKIDA - IN - FRONT - OF - ME!" **

_**END PREVIEW**_

* * *

**Next chapter, I'll try and pump it out before I get back to class, but no promises!**

**Tensei Out.**


	21. Chapter 21: Shell of a boy

_**Chapter 21 - Shell of a boy**_

**T/N: Chapter contains strong language.**

* * *

_There was no time to alert Klein anyway. He couldn't have helped._

That was what I kept telling myself, as I dashed across the plains of Maogen. I felt like I was reliving a nightmare, except this time, the scenario played out at night instead of the evening. Just to make it that bit darker. The wind whistled in my ears as I think back to the message. "Same time, Same place." It had to be the cave, and I had to get there before midnight, or... I didn't complete that thought. I couldn't.

As I dashed across the fields like a madman, the only rational part of my brain took notice of my knives.

The Secret Edges had turned colours, from tinted green to a dark violet, almost black colour. It was very strange, but every other part of my mind was screaming blue bloody murder at the rational thinking part, for daring to distract me from my current situation. The rational part cowered, then sunk below and didn't resurface.

I got to the tunnel entrance and a feeling of ominous foreboding struck me.

_Here goes everything!_

I ran in as fast as the narrow tunnel would allow, and came out the other end.

CLANG!

My knives came up just in time to stop a meat cleaver splitting my head in two. I grunted, then threw the attacker off. I looked up, and just as I had dreaded, the cloaked figure of my nightmares had returned.

"It seems you've gotten stronger boy. I didn't expect you to get here so quickly." PoH remarked.

"Where is she?" I growled, blood pounding in my ears.

"You'll find out soon." He grinned evilly. "Or not."

"Why...?" I croaked. My throat was dry, though my blood was pumping through it. "Why are you doing this...? I never wanted trouble from you. Why me?"

PoH seemed to genuinely consider the question, then tilted his head. "It was all originally a plan for revenge... For putting the Laughing Coffin away, when we're all going to die in this world anyway. We served as the people who offered quick, painless death. Then you got in the way. Argo the Rat was your fastest source of information for taking us down, therefore she was picked as the hostage. " His gaze sharpened on me. "But the original plan is no longer in effect. The Laughing Coffin is dead. Simply put, my blood boils for yours."

"Then fight me like a man!" I roared. "Not the cowardly dog you pretend to be!"

His expression goes dead. "Very well." He activated the menu, and I knew what was coming before it came. "So be it."

**Player PoH has challenged you to a duel!**

**Duel type: Deathmatch**

**Safetynet: 0%**

Safetynet. It was the duel stopper. When a player's health went below the safetynet's percentage, the duel ended, and the winner would be announced. By setting at zero, this was no duel.

This was a fight to the death.

I clicked 'accept', and a countdown timer appeared. 20 seconds.

**20...19...18...**

"This ends now." I growled.

"Indeed. I won't lie, you are no weak opponent, boy." He acknowledged. "But this is a last stand for one of us here. Make it count."

**10...9...8...**

I gripped my knives harder, ignoring their purple-black state.

**5...4...3...**

I charged up a skill, and planted my feet into the ground.

**2...1...**

No slow motion this time.

_Let's do it._

**GO**

-Rising Fury-

My right knife came up in a powerful arc, which PoH blocked with his cleaver. My left knife followed up the slash and struck the arm holding the chopper.

PoH grinned nastily and charges Ito me with his shoulder, throwing me to the floor, then leapt up and charged up his own skill. The same skill that one killed me.

-Knife pound-

The weapon sliced straight down, and I only barely managed to dodge it. My right leg flipped over to the left, then came back at him in an unarmed skill.

-Reversal-

The back if my foot stuck his head, and he backed away, dazed. I grabbed both knives and leapt forward. Then he grinned again.

He was feigning his daze!

His infamous knife came up in an uppercut, and I could do nothing as the knife went through me, and took a chunk out of my health. I flipped backwards and regained my breath, as did he.

PoH's health: 84%

My health: 68%

"Not bad." PoH grunted.

"Save your breath." I snapped back, then prepped another skill. As I anticipated, PoH jumped upwards, cleaver now in a more defensive position. I darted, not towards him, but under him, then struck upwards as his knife came down. Deflecting his knife, I jumped up and stabbed both knives at him, similar to a pencil jump. But much deadlier.

He spun around just as the knives made contact, and the blades went shearing off his armour. He fell on top of me and used his empty hand to hit the square of my back, and I fell forward. At the same time, he reached the ground and landed on his shoulder, forcing him to roll away. As he did, I drew a throwing pin and threw it straight at him. It scratched his face and sheared off, missing the intended target of his eye.

We both found ourselves six feet apart, crouching low as we regained our breath.

"Still so valiant… yet fighting for a lost cause." He murmured.

"You shut up about Argo!" I yelled. "You're the last person who has the right to insult her!"

He rose, and his knife fell to his side.

_What?_

"You misunderstand. The information dealer is truly a lost cause." He smiled malevolently. "This will either make you fight better... Or drop dead." He whispered the last part in a dreadful hiss.

"W-what?" I stuttered, for the first time, fear creeping into my voice. "What is it?"

He opened his mouth and spoke the words... Those terrible, terrible words that haunt me to this day.

"She's dead."

My breath caught in my throat. I forcibly unstuck it. "Who's dead?" It was a stupid question, but I couldn't believe it.

"You heard me, and you know what I said." PoH insisted. "Argo the information dealer is dead. I killed her."

"Bullshit!" I yelled valiantly. "If you think you can throw off my fighting by spewing all this crap, then you got another think coming-"

"Confirm it for yourself. You have her on your friends list, do you not?"

I wanted, more than anything, to attack him and end his lies. But something in that calm, satisfied expression stopped me, like a friend who was about to tell a sick, dark joke. Warily, I opened out the friends menu.

Argo was greyed out on my list…

…!

"I told you. Argo is already dead. I made that mistake once, letting a hostage live, I wouldn't make that mistake again." PoH smirked to himself.

ARGO... IS DEAD...

I KILLED HER...

ARGO THE INFORMATION DEALER...

DEAD...

Killed...

The worlds echoed in my head.

That wasn't a typo. The worlds were echoing in my head. And they begun to fall apart.

"No... Argo… Yuri... Is dead? No... Yuri... Yuri Kunikida... She was right with me a few hours ago... She can't be..." I whispered. I felt my grip loosen, and... My knives falling from my hands. I brought up my hands to my face... Then fell to the floor.

"No. Yuri isn't dead... Yuri... She isn't... She told me that I had to buy her a year's worth of Ramu soda... She wouldn't let go of a debt, she needs to be repaid, right? She's not..." I rambled on for a moment, panic rising in my voice.

"Ohhh..." PoH mused, clearly pleased with his work. "You must have been close to her, to know her real name... I don't even know the names of my own guild. Just their online names."

"She's... really... gone?" I mouthed. PoH kicked me while I was down, and I skidded the length of the floor.

"Ahh..." I felt pain. And it wasn't pain from his blow. A pain in my chest so real, so terrible, no wound could replicate that damage. "Aaa...aaaaaAAAAA**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"**

I screamed so loudly, I thought my throat would tear in two. My throat already felt raw, but I kept screaming, desperate for some sense in the world...

_"Oi, Yuri!"_

_The girl turned at the sound of my voice, brown hair flicked into the air with the motion, and smiled. I smiled back and handed her a glass bottle, with a blue stopper and a marble in the bottle._

_"Thanks Ka-bou. You know me too well." She smiled charmingly. I couldn't help blushing. She really was a sweet girl, once you got to know her. Though admittedly, before you did, she was very quiet._

_"Not as well as I'd like to." I chuckled, and she laughed with me._

_"True." She giggled, then sat down on the wooden bench. I followed suit._

_It was just another Friday evening, but the sun was already down. Of course it did. It was winter, after all. The sky was grey and dark by four in the afternoon. Of course, that didn't stop every eighth grader from hanging out with their friends, us included. Heck, it was Friday! She sipped her soda by the light of the street lamps, and shivered. I sighed._

_"You know you should really wait until you're in a warm place to drink something cold." I chided her gently. _

_"Hey, if cold drinks are bad in the cold, why do people drink beer to keep the cold out?" She pouted. I could have argued, but I didn't even bother. Why bother questioning broken logic?_

_"I am a little cold though." She admitted, then looked at me. I wasn't wearing much. School uniform and jacket, plus a light sweater. That was all. I was a naturally warm person, after all. _

_Without warning, she snuggled up to me, jacket and all, basically pushing her whole body onto my form. I was pretty short for my age, so she was actually heavier than me, and I started in surprise._

_"O-oi! What are you doing, Yuri?" I yelped. Even if I wasn't a naturally warm person, the blush creeping through my neck would have heated anybody up._

_"You're warm!" She exclaimed. "Hey, lend me some of that heat, I need it right now."_

_"You silly girl..." I muttered, and she giggled again._

_"Hey, what are friends for?" She exaggerated. I frowned a little, then smiled again._

_"Right. Friends." _

"Are you done yet?" PoH's voice dragged me back to reality.

I gasped, tears refusing to stop leaking from my eyes. I looked at my health and realized I had only 52% left. PoH had clearly been trying to get me back to reality for a while.

"No... It looks like you're too far gone." He sighed. "Well then... Time to die."

"She's not dead, PoH! She would have fought!" I roared at him, still refusing to accept what so blindingly obvious: the truth.

"She was easily subdued. Pathetic. I hoped you would put up a better fight than her." He taunted.

Something snapped within me at that second.

**"NEVER -" **I thundered. "**INSULT - YURI - KUNIKIDA - IN - FRONT - OF - ME!" **

And I rose, tears still dripping from my face. My knives protested with the strength I gripped them with. My knives weren't just her black now, clouds of darkness surrounded the blades. But I didn't care. I leapt at him, and lashed at him with all my might.

-Close Crush Combat-

PoH's eyes widened as my attacks came one after the other, blocking a few and taking a few hits, then leaping back. "What on earth-"

-Wraparound-

The skill allowed me to appear behind the murderer.

-Quadrastab-

Four stabs straight to the back, and I made a special note to hit him critically in the back of the neck.

-Cross Lunge-

PoH managed to pull himself away from the onslaught of attacks, and my final knife skill barely grazed him.

"You fool!" He roared. "If you let emotions take over, I will win easily!" Backing up his claim, he tossed himself fearlessly into an aerial skill.

-Skull crush-

The cleaver hit me directly in the shoulder, and I roared, mindlessly,

PoH's Health: 36%

My Health: 23%

I was in the red, and by all rights, I should have been very, VERY worried about my own life, but I was only focused on one life right now. Ironic how that life didn't exist anymore. But the person who took that life away…

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TALK ABOUT MY EMOTIONS, YOU SELF-SATISFIED FUCK!" I screamed indecently at him, then raised my right knife and landed it right into his neck. PoH gasped as the critical hit took him down below the 10% range, but I didn't care what he had to say. "You want to offer people quick, painless death? Like you guys are some divine crusaders? Yeah, well FUCK THAT, PoH! You're a murderer! There is no other word for your pathetic excuse of a cause!"

I left the knife in his neck and used my other knife to impale his knife-hand into the the ground, then stood up and made him watch my final actions. The dagger in his neck induced huge amounts of Damage Over Time effect, but I had to finish him in a more personal manner. His eyes widened as he looked up at me and realized his helpless situation. I made sure to look him in the eye.

"Repent on your sins, and I pray you choke on every single one." I whispered, then stamped on his head.

His entire body blew apart into blue polygons.

I felt no remorse.

No regret.

Only the shell of the boy I used to be, being expelled from my body as I howled like an animal to the heavens, my voice echoing all around me in that small, nightmare-ridden cave, crying for the loss of the sweet girl who had done nothing wrong but love me.

* * *

I had sent about 3 messages to Klein, who was worried when I didn't respond to his first message. He'd exploded when he realized what I'd done, and I'd told him all sorts of truths, none of them very detailed. Instant replies, and I really couldn't be bothered to read them all. It was about 3 in the morning, and I was nowhere close to getting sleep, despite getting back to my own house. I didn't feel very bright, even though the house looked it, so I turned off the lights, and pretended that I was going to get a good night's sleep.

_At school, I was constantly teased and asked whether I liked Yuri in that way, as more than a friend. I became a method actor and insisted that we were just friends, maybe even like siblings, but that was it. Albeit very good friends. That's all we were. I definitely remember one girl asking me whether we were dating, and although I said no with a smile, my internal voice said "I wish." Eventually, I stopped. It hurt like hell, but I wasn't willing to spill my feelings and risk one of my only friendships. That was the weird thing. I never had many friends. Unless you counted Tess, but she was practically and biologically my other half anyway. Then there was Yuri. We knew each other and knew how to comfort and hurt each other. We could almost guess each other's thought trains before they reached their stations._

_We were waiting for the train to take Yuri home, since I often saw her to the train station. It was the summer term, so train tickets for students cost next to nothing._

"_Sorry for always dragging you to the train station, Ka-bou." Yuri remarked, trying to get me to face her._

"_Huh?" I quickly turned to her. "I've been seeing you to the train station for half a year, and NOW you're sorry?"_

_She looked hurt, and I was already feeling guilty. "I-I didn't mean it like that! It's just that I thought there was no need for an apology, the station's practically on the way home anyway!" I blurted in one breath._

_She continued to look hurt. "I've said my piece, Ka-bou. It was all I wanted to say. In the end... It's up to you what you do. Silica or me."_

_Wait, what?_

"_What does Silica have to do with it?" I asked._

_A deep voice came from the left, causing me to turn away from her. I saw a huge, cloaked figure with a cleaver in hand. Even as he spoke, it took two seconds for the words to stop echoing. "She's dead." _

_She's dead…_

_She's dead..._

_She's dead…_

"_What? Why is Silica-"_

"_Not her, you fool!" PoH snarled, then threw the cleaver at Yuri, who was no longer Yuri, but dressed as Argo the Rat, hoodie, whiskers and all. The cleaver caught her in the chest, and she exploded into billions of white fragments. The white filled my vision, and rang with a tinkling of bells._

"YURI!" I shouted, waking with a start. Then I realized where I was, and that it was barely past four in the morning.

I sighed, my mind no longer focused on the land of the living, or even the death game, but a single, kind soul in the realm of the dead.

* * *

**T/N: So… yeah. Ummm… I had planned to wait it out, then release this chapter a little later, but I was too eager. I want to know what you guys think.**

**It actually burned my own chest when I wrote this chappie o.o Owch. Can someone get me ice? That burns like shit hell.**

**So this is PROBABLY the last chappie before school starts, and updates will die down, etc etc etc… So I hope you enjoyed the onslaught of about… what, 3 or four chapters in the last couple of week?**

**I'm opening the boarded box! By that I mean, you can ask me any question you like, whether it's about this story, fanfictions in general, or my personal life. I will respond in kind with a PM, just to make up for the fact that I'm probably gonna be missing for a while.**

**Review responses**

**PCheshire - Welp, It looks like I completely ignored this request -.- Sorry. I just think Tensei needs a darker mindset, it's a little too bright in there, and I promise it's all gonna work out.**

**Satoru Tomaki - Let the heart bleeding commence. I will drop by soon, haven't had the time lately.**

**Blaze Shadow - Searched up Celtic Longswords on Google. They look like they'd give Kirito's Elucidator a run for it's money. o.o. So glad you didn't sharpen yours. Yet. As you can see, Tensei's had enough of girls for a while, so you want him to pick? You'll have to wait for him to stop breaking things. I don't really know why talking about myself in third person feels so odd. But hey, I wish I did all these things in SAO! Sure as hell I didn't. But talking about Tensei in a third person perspective just feels WEIRD. xD. On a more serious note, Tensei did have to PK PoH, but since it was a duel, no statuses… statii? Statiises? Well, no red status was incurred. You said to take as long as I needed, but I actually pumped out this chapter on the same day I finished the other chapter, so… I hope it's as good in quality.**

**Sorafireice - You might regret your eagerness now. We have a dead girl on our hands.**

**That's all for now guys! Time for the preview!**

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_**PREVIEW**_

If Yuri had never known me… Maybe that would have been best. She would be in the death game, with one less person to worry about, maybe fall for someone more responsible, someone genuinely concerned for her. And she wouldn't have been in danger of being kidnapped, then killed.

I killed her.

Skyridge has always been known, not only for it's gravity-bending structures, but it's eternal drop into nothingness at the edges of the map… Without handrails.

And as I stare down into the blue yonder, I wonder if jumping down will be less painful than trying to live with myself. Because there is a lot of pain. Ache, agony, torture, torment, discomfort. Whatever you need to call it, it hurts.

So maybe a quick drop wouldn't hurt.

_**END PREVIEW**_

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**That's all for now guys. See you soon.. or not.**

**Tensei Out.**


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